#really bas a communicating or writing down my thoughts

[crystalchespin]

Do you have any headcannons of PvZ?

Most specifically about BonkChoi and/or GrassKnuckles??

STARES AT YOU WITH MY VERY NORMAL EYES. WHAT DID YOU JUST ASK ME.

I have headcanons for almost all of the plants I wish I was joking I just find them rlly interesting .okay

- For Grass Knuckles, this is random but he has a very bad eyesight. He still needs his glasses but refuses to wear them because he thinks he'd look stupid and because he thinks they might get in the way during a fight.

That's why he punches everything on-screen when he's using his super HAHDJAHDKS

- And for Bonk Choy(s), as in like a species I think. They are basically made/exist to be protectors. It's common to find them covered in scars and without a couple of leaves due to them never backing down from a fight; and sometimes dealing with the consequences. If their rival tries to flee they quite literally will try to chase them down until they defeat them. They are way too stubborn.

For them same reason It's not rare to find them with other kind of plant's sprouts, they self-assign the duty to take care of them. I need to make them explode.

[drunknillawafer]

right down the line: zuko x firebender!reader (part 12)

You grew up close to the Royal Family due to your father's position as a General, but you ran away from home after the agni kai against your best friend, Zuko. Now, you've joined the Gaang and plan on doing your part in ending the 100-year war.

Part 11 Part 13

helloooo hehe i'm just so excited for the incoming plots... this one is so cute im blushing!!! thank u for the nice comments and feedback!! makes me want to keep writing <3 I do it all for the 5 ppl in my taglist truly LOL i do not own these characters... lets get to it!

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

The awkwardness would come in waves. We'd get comfortable, but then silence creeps up and someone would have to ask something to get the conversation going again. The tension would go away, and we would get wrapped up in whatever we were talking about. Looking into each other’s eyes with gleam.

Eventually, I got used to the new version of him. His scar, the green attire, his hair. He’s clearly tougher these days, something about his time at sea. Still, in those waves where the awkwardness would dissipate, I could see the old Zuko.

It was almost like he was having an internal battle about whether he should be the old him or this new version of himself. It didn’t matter much to me. I’m still surprised we’re sitting here, talking instead of fighting.

I always imagined our reunion to be smoother than this. Nicer. Calmer. More tears, more hugs, more hand holding, and maybe some… kiss. The very last thing he communicated before he left was an I love you in the letter.

Should I mention it? Maybe it would naturally come up.

We’re still finding our way back to each other.

After your classic catch ups about nothing, it seemed like we ran out of things to talk about.

“So,” I say.

“So,” he replies. And we burst into laughter.

“Isn’t this a bit weird?”

“Yeah, it feels like I don’t know you.”

“Do you want to know anything?” I prompt, giving him the freedom of questions. It’s dangerous territory, he could ask about Aang.

“You carry your swords with you everywhere you go?”

“Yup.” I nod, smiling to myself.

“Why?”

It’s not surprising he’d ask. We always talked about using our swords as our main method of fighting, but we never got around to it. Born fire-benders, forced to be. Until the agni kai, of course.

“Felt like carrying a piece of home. And I was hiding, people out here don’t really like us.”

A thought flashes through his mind, causing a slight frown. “Yeah. They don’t.”

“Where are your swords?”

“Locked away. Uncle wants us to just serve tea.”

“How are you liking regular life?” I tease.

He groans, “I was so—how did you do it?”

“I was lucky to have found the Freedom Fighters when I did. They took me in and taught me a lot about living on your own.”

“Wait, you were in the Freedom Fighters?”

Confused, I reply, “Yeah.”

“I met them, on my way here. Jet, right?” My old leader’s name sounds bitter coming out of Zuko’s mouth, but that only means he truly got to know him.

“Yes… actually, I came in here because I heard what happened. Did he attack you?”

It was an odd picture to paint. Zuko and Jet are in the same vicinity, fighting.

“He wanted to prove I was a fire-bender, but I managed to convince them I wasn’t. The Dai Li came in and took him.” After a slight pause, he continues. “Is that why you’re in Ba Sing Se? You’re looking for him?”

And there it was, the all-time question: is the Avatar here with me?

As much as I would like to reverse time and trust him the way I did before, I can’t. I don’t know what he’d do with the information.

“Yeah.” I lie. “But I just hope he’s still here and I haven’t wasted my time.”

“You’ll find him, I know you will.”

The compliment eases any discomfort from the truth I’m keeping. He believes me. It’s not like I’m the one who kicked him the ribs.

For a moment, we’re staring at each other, respecting the other’s inner thoughts. I feel the most awake I have been in a while, and I can’t tell if it’s because I’m near him.

Sokka’s words come back to me. “It’s complicated because of him.”

Is this what he saw? My subconscious reaction to any mention of Zuko. I wondered if you’d be able to see our interaction on my face once I went home.

It suddenly hits me that the fire-bender boy would have no idea he’s caused so much commotion in my life without being in it. He’s there even when he’s not. Is that choosing between both?

Zuko interrupts my thoughts. “Y/N, a Freedom Fighter. Why am I not surprised?” He says in wonder.

“What do you mean?”

“You were always beating me at sword-fighting.”

“Not true!” A lie. “You won, sometimes…”

“You let me win.”

“Well, you don’t need me to let you win anymore, do you?” I meant it as a joke, but it’s a bite about what happened at the Northern Water Tribe. It sobers the conversation.

His face gets serious and melancholy. “You know, I am sorry.”

“You’ve said that.” I sigh. I know I have nothing nice to say about this. I can’t pretend it didn’t hurt me for days. I can’t pretend it didn’t make Sokka and I fight. and I can’t pretend the scar doesn’t exist on my side.

“I’d take it back if I could. You’re the most important thing to me.” He throws that out as if its nothing, as if its fact. As if it wouldn’t make me feel something in my chest.

I look at him from across the table. I can tell he means it. I turn my head and intake where he truly is. At a teashop with his uncle, a fugitive of the Fire Nation, like me. Is it possible he could actually change, abandon his plans to capture the Avatar? It sure seems like it.

But if I want to get anywhere with Zuko, I must take a leap. I have to trust him.

☆

And it was like that for a couple of weeks. I’d leave the house in the higher rings and spend my days at the tea shop, until they moved Iroh to the Jasmine Dragon. Then the journey from where Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and I were staying to Zuko got shorter.

After three years, we had the chance to talk about everything. He told me about what he did when he was banished, and I updated him on the guerilla group he missed out on. Little by little, we talked about it all.

Still, he couldn’t know Aang was here. He thought I was here alone, solely on a Freedom Fighter mission.

Other than the thin white lies, I was living in one of my dreams. The sun was warmer, the food tasted better, I felt all the elements much clearer than I had been. There was no pressure to be anything but just us. Just two people who got ripped away from each other, finally being able to reconnect.

I didn’t know how to explain to everyone at home. How would they understand?

Their enemy was my best friend growing up. How could they ever let me do this and trust that I won’t betray them? It was too complicated. I’d have to work as I am now. Spending my days outside the house and coming home before the sun said farewell.

Today was different, though. Zuko and I had planned something non-teashop related. We were going to meet up at sunset.

As I gathered my things but left my swords behind for the night, Sokka snuck up on me.

I yelped at the sight of him, expecting everyone to be doing their own thing. “Ah! Sokka, you scared me.” Without meeting his eye, I head for the door but he’s beat me to it.

He blocks my path with his body, demanding an answer from me. “Where are you going?”

“What do you mean?” Since when do we monitor each other like this? I’d understand Katara, but Sokka? Especially after how we left it.

We hadn’t talked about our fallout at all and I wasn’t going to start right now.

“You’ve been completely absent. Are you really that committed to avoiding me?” I look up at his eye and a bubble forms in my throat. I can tell he’s hurt. His ideal situation would not be the one I’m putting him through.

Even when ending our blossoming… friendship, I can’t stop hurting him. No matter what I do.

Begrudgingly, I reply. “It’s not about you, Sokka.”

“Then?”

“I’m just… learning about Ba Sing Se. It’s not like Fire Nation can just walk in and out of here.” And it’s true. When’s the next time I’d get to be here without a giant fire emblem attached to me?

“That’s why you have to go out at night?”

“Look, Sokka, it’s over. So, you don’t have to worry about me, I can take care of myself. I did before you showed up, I can now. Thank you for your concern, but I don’t need it anymore.” I push him to the side and slam the door on my way out.

I lean against it for a moment, fighting tears.

He probably thinks I belong in the Fire Nation now. But no use crying over spilled moo-sow milk. I have somewhere to be before the sun goes down.

☆

The last time I saw him, I told him I’d meet him in front of the Jasmine Dragon. As I’m walking up the entrance, I see Zuko standing there, with his hair split down the middle.

Instead of hi, I say, “I like your hair.” The humiliation of his effort for this outing casts over his face.

“Uncle did it, it took him ten minutes.” Zuko ruffles it in his hands, and it lands where it always is. Then, he’s looking at me to lead the way.

“C’mon, I have something to show you.”

☆

At this point, Yue is the only light in the sky. She’s been shining brighter lately, and the breeze feels good on my cheeks as we move through the dark streets. The weather is always perfect in Ba Sing Se.

I’m dragging Zuko by his hand, desperately trying to pretend I don’t enjoy holding it. It’s just to guide him, nothing else, nothing more.

When we finally get to Firelight Fountain, everything’s dull. Usually, there’s glistening lamps circling the space and lanterns in the water, twinkling against the night. It’s enchanting. I found it before I found him here in the city. It’s one of the places that bring me peace.

The disappointment in my face is evident.

“What?” He asks, clearly assessing something’s missing.

“The lamps are supposed to be lit. It’s beautiful at night.”

The response makes him think for a moment. “Well, it’s nothing we can’t fix right?” He smiles at me.

I return it to him. “Right.”

We both walk up and stand back-to-back, ready in position to light the lamps.

One-by-one, we light them using our index and middle fingers to direct our flame. In just a couple of minutes, it looks just how I wanted it to.

I turn around and grab onto his arms, yelping in excitement. He’s holding back onto me as I say, “See!”

We let go of the other, suddenly aware of our proximity to each other, and take a moment to breathe in how the light reflects off the water.

“Isn’t it so pretty?” I look at him but he’s already looking at me.

“It is.”

I turn my head to stare at the fountain again, unprepared for the incoming emotions from…? It’s more romantic than we planned, I think.

We’re standing side-by-side, shoulder to shoulder, in silence. But it’s not a terrible, awkward one like that first day we saw each other. It’s one where we can completely understand what the other one is thinking, and no one needs to say a thing.

Just by the way we are breathing, we know. It’s like he can feel my heart racing.

Swiftly, he turns to me.

“What?” I ask.

“Did you ever get the letter?”

My breath hitches in my throat. "I did."

“What did you think?”

“We never really talked about it.”

“What is there to talk about, Y/N? You know.”

“Know what?” I can’t help but roll my eyes. I am getting tired of being told I know things from boys I like more than most.

Without speaking another word, he leans in.

Frozen in place, I let him place his lips on mine.

He tastes like spearmint and smells like tea leaves, figures. For a few seconds, I let myself swim in it. I smile against him. I drown in the feeling that nothing else exists.

But you always need to come back up for air.

Lightly, I push him away. My heart is at the bottom of my stomach, what did I just do?

I don’t say anything, I don’t even say goodbye. I immediately turn around and run in the other direction. Back to home. Back to where it’s safe and comfortable and I can’t believe I just did that.

I feel like a traitor.

I don’t look back as I run, and I don’t hear him coming after me. The picture of him standing there watching me run away is too much to bear. I just focus on getting home.

Once I’m at the door, I stare at it. I have to choose. There’s no more time.

Sokka’s feelings or Zuko’s?

I enter our temporary home in Ba Sing Se, and there he is, waiting for me.

When we lock eyes, Sokka knows it’s coming.

“Can we talk?”  

---------------------------

tag list: @camilleverreault @staygoldsquatchling02 @yunloyal @lily-ann-b @yahhyla-1 <3!!!

[jhoneybees]

: :A Bad dream: :

This is my first time writing a little! Fanfic, I really hope it didn't cross any lines! Never experienced or met anyone who is in the littlespace/babyspace community so if I missed any warnings/triggers. Please let me know!

Characters: (50s)Little! Elvis and CG!Reader

Prompt: Elvis wakes up from a nightmare and just wants comfort from his mama.

Warnings/triggers: Little space, age regression, argument, yelling

This is a Fluff fanfic, hope you enjoy and if you don't feel comfortable reading about arguments then you may skip past the first paragraph :)

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“Ugh quit being clingy, you're so annoying” you brush Elvis' hands away from your waist, making Elvis look at you in the reflection of the vanity mirror with a pout. He opens his mouth to say something but before he could you raise your hand; giving him an angry glare through the mirror. You've finally had enough. “GO AWAY!” The boy widens his eyes out of shock but not long after, he runs and locks himself in the bathroom, sobbing. Leaning his back against the door, melting down onto the tiled floor and curling into himself. He did nothing wrong, he wasn’t ever a bad boy. “I thought Mama loved me..”

“No..no..m-mama..” eyes fluttering, Elvis begins to cry in his sleep but soon wakes up. Breathing heavily as his eyes dart around the room until they land on you who's still sleeping peacefully. Choking up sobs just at the sight of you, Elvis shuffles closer to you and wraps his arms around your waist as he buries his face under your breasts which makes you wake up. “Elvis?” Your voice sleepy and groggy, you reach for the lamp on the bedside table; switching it on only to look back down to see the top of Elvis' head and feeling his body tremble against you. The sound of Elvis' sobs makes you come to your senses so you pry his arms away from around your waist “Honey? What's going on?” gently tilting his chin up to look at you, his eyes showing the scared little boy that you always adored, your eyebrows furrow and a click of a tongue follows. “Aww sweetie…” as you thumb away at his tears, Elvis sobs continue and his trembling hands try to find their way to touch your hands that are cupping his cheeks “M-mama, mama” his breathing becoming out of control.

You quickly tell him to slow down his breathing just like you taught him, frantically nodding his head and closing his eyes as he takes a deep breath. “Good boy, deep breaths baby. Deep breaths” his breathing slows down and his tears stop falling, leaving just hiccups, you gently card your fingers through his hair knowing it’ll soothe him. “What happened baby? Wanna tell Mama what happened?” You make sure your voice is quiet so it wouldn’t scare Elvis since when he’s little, it doesn’t take much for him to cry whenever he hears a loud noise he doesn’t like, especially yelling. Elvis slowly opens his eyes and nuzzles his head up against your chest. “B-ba-bad dream” nodding your head silently with a soft hum. “Baby had a bad dream? Aww darlin’ I’m sorry” Elvis sniffles softly and nuzzles even further into your chest and you adjust yourself to get more comfortable. “Do you wanna talk about it?” feeling his head move, assuming it was a nod. “M-mama yelled at Elvie… told me to go away..” Hearing your heart shatter into a million pieces, you shake your head. “Sweetie..” Elvis wraps his arms around you again and you wrap yours around his head gently. “Mama could never tell you to go away, Baby’s the most precious thing in the world” rubbing your hand in between his shoulder blades you lean down to peck the crown of his head. “ M’not a bad boy?” Elvis asks in the softest voice that makes your heart melt. “No honey, You could never be a bad boy to Mama…” Peeking over the curve of your breasts looking up at you, Elvis’ blue eyes sparkle and you break into a genuine smile. “Love baby too much to live without him” You state. With smiling eyes, Elvis giggles “I love you mama”...”I love you baby”.

[soleil-rancher]

Lucky Snow Day

Ships(s): Vaughn x Chelsea

Character Mentions: Natalie, Mirabelle, Julia, and Gannon.

Words: 1.9k

Author's Note: This is for the Spring Bokumono Exchange!! @angelsarts I hope you enjoy, I had a lot of fun writing this because Vaughn is one of my absolute favs. I go buck wild for this guy, seriously.

It's not very on theme with the season currently but you said first festival and I thought this idea was cute <3

Winter 4, Year of the Ox. Day of the Winter Festival.

The absolute magic of the Winter Festival. It’s all anyone’s been talking about since the first snowflakes fell. The long standing tradition reinforces the bonds that the islands’ community members have cultivated throughout the year--which culminates in the building of a snowman. Natalie told Chelsea that last year’s snowman was the biggest they ever had since Gannon brought buckets for people to shovel snow. This year he said he was going to bring a wheel barrel.

But Chelsea won’t know if he does because she’s been snowed in. Chelsea doesn’t even know if the festival is even happening because of the six feet of snow that blocked off her door and decided it wanted to freeze as well.

“Stupid ice,” she mumbles to herself, not unlike a child pouting. But why shouldn’t she pout? Today was supposed to be a magical day filled with hot chocolate and laughter and being with her friends from the island. 

She sighs as she collapses into a chair. Kicking against the door hadn’t done anything but made her tired. 

As her dog trots over and sits at her feet, she mentally thanks Mirabelle for her insistence on installing an auto feeder in case of bad storms. At the very least, Chelsea won’t have to worry about her animals starving. She worries about them regardless. If they’re staying warm, if the storm last night scared any of them.

A horrifying fear creeps into her mind. What if one of the trees fell on the barn or the coop and her animals are freezing to the bone while she sits in her warm, inescapable house.

Her leg starts to bounce as she sits up straighter. There’s nothing she can do until the ice melts. She’ll just have to hope and pray that they’re okay.

So that’s what she does, all day--along with a few household chores she hasn’t been able to get to in a while. The wind howls and every once in a while she kicks the door to check if it can open.

That is until she hears a pounding on her door that startles her. How could anyone knock on the door…unless? She sprints over to the worn wood, turning the knob before she throws her shoulder into it. The door opens with a crack and nearly knocks over the person on the other side as she stumbles through onto them.

They’re both taken to the ground and all the air leaves Chelsea’s lungs for a second. Ow. That really hurt.

“Damn,” a familiar voice rumbles, “is this the thanks I get for shovelin’ yer door? I’m never doin’ shit for you again.”

Chelsea looks down and realizes she’s face to face with a very cold, frost-nipped Vaughn. “Goddess, Vaughn?” she gasps.

“Yeah, who else?” Vaughn lets out a small groan of pain before Chelsea scrambles to her feet and more importantly off of Vaughn.

“So-sorry! I’ve just been stuck inside all day,” Chelsea begins as she tries to rub some warmth into her arms. She’s in a long sleeve but it isn’t enough for how cold it is in her doorway. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be honest.”

Vaughn begins to stand as she continues to blather on. “Please, Goddess, I’m an idiot, come in!”

She moves out of the way of the door and he eyes the inside of her house warily before nodding. “Fine,” he says, stepping past her and wiping his boots off on the mat, “and you’re not stupid.”

So much is running through Chelsea’s head as she tries to understand just how this cowboy ended up in her house. Number 1: Why is Vaughn here? Did Mirabelle send him? Number 2: Is this the first time he’s ever been to her house? He must’ve been here at some point, right? There are the animal deliveries…but those were to the barn. Chelsea has only really talked to him whenever she goes to Mirabelle’s to pretend to ask for animal advice until she can bother Vaughn. So…yes. This is his first time here. It’s his first time here and Chelsea feels like she can’t breathe. Maybe it’s because she had the wind knocked out of her when she bulldozed Vaughn. Yes, yes that would make sense.

“I’m real sorry for knocking you down,” Chelsea says, swallowing thickly, “I had been going at that door for the last few hours, I suppose I guessed it wouldn’t open as easy as it did.”

Vaughn stares at her intensely. “Have you been stuck in here all day?” His eyebrows furrow together.

Chelsea nods, suddenly feeling much warmer with his gaze on her. She takes a pause before mumbling out a question. “Is…is the festival going on right now?” she asks softly.

Vaughn looks at her like she’s crazy. “You could’ve been stuck in here for Goddess knows how long and you wanna know if the festival is still happenin’ today?” His gruff voice makes it sound stupid.

“I just…I didn’t want to miss it. Natalie made it sound really special.” Chelsea retreats into herself for a second and Vaughn pauses.

“It didn’t. A lotta folks said the snow would make riding with Kirk too dangerous,” he answers as he sits down, “that and half the island couldn’t get out their doors, just like you.”

“Were you, Mirabelle, and Julia snowed in?”

“Yeah,” he answers, rubbing the back of his neck, “I had to jump out the second story and use the shovel from the barn to get us out.”

Chelsea laughs lightly, like the tinkling of bells. “I can’t believe Mirabelle let you jump from a window,” Chelsea says trying to picture it. She only imagines her own mom lecturing her about doing dumb or dangerous things.

❄ ❄ ❄ ❄ ❄

“Oh, she didn’t. Julia had to occupy her with another attempt at cooking before I could get out,” Vaughn says, his lips resisting the urge to curl up. He hates how much her laugh affects him. Before Chelsea came to the island, he had no problem keeping everyone at arm's length. But then this bubbly bouncy brunette waltzed into his life and started changing everything.

Before he wouldn’t have given a second thought about shoveling out the snow, happy to be barricaded from everyone by an act of Goddess. But with Chelsea on her own here, needing to tend to her animals, what would she do? She doesn’t have a second story to slide down. She doesn’t have someone to dig her out. She could’ve been stuck. She could’ve been hurt and who would’ve known? The thought makes Vaughn’s stomach churn.

“Julia’s cooking isn’t that bad,” Chelsea protests, her need to champion everyone and see the best in them bubbling up, “she just needs a bit more practice.”

She has a look in her eyes that Vaughn can’t help but admire. Even it makes her care about stupid things like a festival where a bunch of people stand around being cold--at least it means she cares.

“You only say that cause you don’t have to eat it,” Vaughn says, gravitating toward her as he rolls his eyes. He can’t help it. He is inexplicably caught in her orbit. He wants to be close.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree there,” Chelsea says, shaking her head with a smile. She trails off for a moment, chewing her lip. 

There’s something she wants to say. He can tell. He tilts his head to meet her eyes. Urging her to continue.

“Why did you come?” Chelsea asks and he can’t help but clam up.

What could he say? He was wandering by her island that is completely out of the way from any path he could possibly be walking with a shovel just for the hell of it and noticed the new Everest in front of her house?

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Vaughn blurts out, without any input from his chronic need to overthink. “It was a nasty storm.”

“Oh,” Chelsea says and Vaughn notices how pink she is from the cold. Idiot. She’s not even bundled up. Don’t girls wear stupidly fuzzy things during Winter? Where are her stupidly fuzzy things?

Vaughn notices the dwindling furnace and immediately puts himself to work to warm up the house.

“You don’t have to do that, I can do it,” Chelsea protests as she flutters to his side and follows him to the furnace, “you’re the guest.” She folds her arms across her chest and Vaughn can’t help but chuckle. Stubborn. Unluckily for her, he’s stubborn too.

“I know,” Vaughn says, quickly losing the willpower to hold back a grin, “but I’m gonna do it cause I don’t think your freezing fingers will be able to do much.”

Chelsea pouts harder than before. “I’m not even cold,” she claims but the pink in her cheeks beg to differ.

“You’re not?” he challenges, “then why are you pinkier than a firefly flower?” He crosses his arms back at her and tilts his head to catch her eyes. It’s clear as day that she’s freezing.

“Cause you were worried about me,” Chelsea says and the pink in her face deepens to a red.

Vaughn nearly buckles in the knees. “What?” What? What? She’s all pink because he was worried? That doesn’t make any sense--

“I…I liked that you were worried about me…that you were thinking about me,” Chelsea says as she looks up at him.

“I--” Vaughn doesn’t know what to say. Does that mean that she-- “Chelsea, are you…are you saying what I think you're saying?” Vaughn asks, searching her eyes for any hint of rejection or the inkling that this is some sort of cruel joke.

But he just sees Chelsea. The same girl he’s always seen since the day she first came to the island. Someone who is kind and genuine and hard working. Someone who would go out of her way to meet everyone on the island. Someone who wants to befriend everyone and show how much she cares for them. Someone who scares the hell outta someone like him and chased about him no matter how much he fought it.

So he continues to speak as her hands shake and her face goes the brightest red Vaughn thinks he’s ever seen. “Cause if you’re not,” he pauses as he can’t help but laugh nervously, “I’m about to make the biggest fool outta myself.”

He takes her hand gently with his. “I…damn it, I like you Chelsea. A lot,” he says before running a hand quickly through his hair, “I like you so much it scares me. Cause if one day you decide I’m too much of a pain in the ass to talk to…I don’t know how I’m gonna recover.”

Chelsea grips his hand tightly and shakes her head. “Never, I would never decide that,” she says earnestly, her eyes searching for his own, aching for him to believe her--and he does. “I like you too, Vaughn. I like you a whole damn much.” And she laughs, like a cacophony of bells as her trembling fingers wrap around the back of his neck.

“Can I kiss you?” Vaughn asks as his eyes gaze into hers. Searching, always looking for a hint of discomfort.

“Goddess, yes please,” Chelsea says with a smile brighter than the sun. 

The two fall into each other’s embrace, expressing all that they can’t with words through action. Through a kiss. A kiss that aches with the weight of changing seasons upon its shoulders. Hands that tremble and feel for the first time. Anxious in their permission. And when Vaughn and Chelsea pull back from their kiss, the world feels that much warmer. 

Chelsea decides this is her favorite Winter Festival.

[jungshookz]

Oh my god you’re back. oh my god you’re back.

oH MY GOD YOU’RE BA-

I thought we were getting a repeat of what happened before 😭 I was ready to give up on life bUT then you decided to grace us with you’re graceefully godly preceense and now my life is complete ✨

i am back!!!!!! and i really need to get better at communicating when i'm going to drop off the face of the earth

don't worry we aren't going to get a repeat of what happened before and i promise i will NOT disappear for 2 years

to be honest i think what i'm struggling with in terms of writing is like.,., i can't write the same way that i used to and that makes me so sad!! before when i had zero experience with anything remotely romantic it was so easy for me to come up with scenarios and dialogue and etc but i think now that i've grown up a little and experienced the harsh realities of what relationships can be like it's kind of tainted my writing brain and i've been really struggling at writing at the same level i used to (i'm sure u can tell bc everything i've posted since coming back have been short-ish) and when i come back to this blog i always feel a sense of shame and guilt because i feel like i'm letting u guys down or just that no one's interested in my stories anymore

i don't know i feel like i've lost my cee spark (ceepark) a little bit so it's kind of had me down in the dumps ajkldksldsd but i hope something sparks in me soon

[skalidra]

Fic Writers Showcase Game

@there-must-be-a-lock tagged me!

Rules: Go to your published works on AO3 and list the first fic you ever published there, the last fic you published, any fic that you wrote for a fandom/ship only once, your favorite fic you wrote in the fandom/ship that has the most works, the fic you wish more people read, the fic you agonized over the most, the fic that sprang fully formed from your mind without any effort, and a work you are proud of—for whatever reason.

~~

First fic published on Ao3: That would be The Other Side of the Mirror, an Earth-3 continuity mess with a JayDick main pair, featuring Roy as a 3rd PoV. First chapter was posted in September, 2014, currently 200k, 20 chapters , and as of yet unfinished, though I think as it stands it ends on a decently hopeful note. I do still recall the main plot points of where it goes, and would like to finish it someday.

Last fic published: I posted the first chapter of Five Finger Discount just yesterday, which is the 5th piece in my Worth Counting series, an alpha!Slade/alpha!Jason series exploring a variety of kinks but with a focus on non-formal dom/sub vibes, competence/strength kink, and mostly-play fighting. (The last finished story was Shifting Into Fourth which is the 4th piece of that same series, so, I'm a little bit on a theme here.)

Fandom/ship I only wrote once: I uh. I wrote Hamilton/Jefferson/Madison room-where-it-happens porn. For the Hamilton musical. It's called Do Whatever It Takes and I think it is still the thing that makes me feel the most sinfully dirty of all the things I've ever written. So there's that.

I also have Let's Be Clear, which is my only fic set anywhere in the MCU, and is a Daredevil oneshot of an asexual!Wesley being invited to join a Fisk/Vanessa relationship, as I vibed real hard with Wesley as a character and never really got over his unfortunate demise.

(Honorable mention to my four stories that are technically fandoms of their own, but all fall under the 'DCU' umbrella, being for the Arkham games, two shows in the CW Arrowverse, and the Teen Titans cartoon.)

Favorite fic in most popular fandom/ship: This is a little hard to quantify. Technically 'DCU (Comics)' comes in at 93k in stories, which would make JayDick the most popular pairing, which makes my favorite story Captain's Privileges. It's a Star Trek mirror!verse fusion with Captain!Dick and Engineer!Jason and so many unhealthy relationships everywhere, and I love it.

However! 'DCU (Comics)' is a very broad umbrella and it's not really fair to say it's my biggest fandom, since the slice I belong to is much smaller. Which means the more accurate winner is Voltron, at 85k stories. I technically have a Klance story but given that it is a big poly clusterfuck dark!fic I really have to actually give this to the second most popular pairing by stat, Sheith. Out of those, I think my favorite is I'm Not That Man, which was an early false-memories/brainwashed!Shiro fic set just before the wormhole split them all up.

Fic I wish more people read: An Extra Shot, hands down. Come read my gen, Wilson-family-focused exploration of what happens if Adeline dies during the attack on Joey! Come read Slade Wilson being forced into confronting the fact that he is a terrible dad and also now a widowed dad of three kids! Come read Billy trying his best to bludgeon all the terrible communicators of this family into actually working things out! READ THIS. THERE'S A SEQUEL IN PROGRESS. IT'S GOOD I SWEAR.

Fic that was hardest to write: I think the award for this has to go to Me, Not Her, a CaptainPan/CaptainSwan piece which I was apparently so frustrated with at some point that I straight up deleted the file. Four years later (no I am not kidding) I had the vague memory of it. Some sketchy thing I could maybe expand, now that I was having thoughts about OUaT again. I pull it out of the (then eternal) trash of Google Drive. It is five thousand words long and needs no more than pretty basic editing and a little padding at the end to round it off. I don't know what the hell was happening with me when I deleted it, but wow, lesson learned.

Fic that popped out fully-formed: I don't recall any that were explicitly like this, but I also don't tend to write like, neat little packaged stories all that often. If I'm writing oneshots they're usually for events. So my best answer to this is probably Fucking Androids? It's a Reed900 relationship origin story that blazed its way out of me during NaNoWriMo one year, named entirely for the sex pun and then in the end absolutely refusing to have any sex in it, so it won that fight. I remember at least most of it coming really, really easy.

Fic I'm proud of: Pulling out a weird little one, here. I'm going to say Take a Ride. It's a JayDick, Gotham City Garage story that I wrote for Firefright's birthday one year, and on reread I actually still really, really like it? It's just a neat apocalyptic-desert vibe relationship building thing, set in the criminally under-explored and rushed GCG world, and I really like how I put Dick together in this one. I recommend it.

~~

Not tagging anyone specific, but if anyone would like to do this as well, feel free!

[usagii-bun]

𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐄𝐓𝐇 ( NAMOR X READER ) PT.2

in which you find a child floating in the water and you save them only for your acts of kindness to get misinterpreted by the father who is also the king of an underwater civilization.

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST : this is a story i am writing on wattpad but my wattpad version is more in detail, slightly different and has an oc ( alora ). It has 6 chapters thus far and still work in progress if you want you can check it out with the link below or use the linktree link in my bio to access wattpad but if you feel more comfortable with x reader I'll try and get all the chapters I have currently published over here in a few hours or in a day!

hiraeth ( namor ) wattpad | oc version!

also thank you so much for all the love ! I really appreciate it <3

PART 1, PART 2 , PART 3

TAG LIST :

@f1uveryys @xxmilli @ethereal-athalia @cyberficlya @complete-randomness-2 @bobateaae @lunamoonbby

✧ : - ⭒ - : ✧ : - ⭒ - : ✧

IT HAS BEEN NEARLY a week since you had found the child, in three days you were able to gain his trust. You had also learnt his name to be Huracan- the name of the Storm God.

With the help of a translator, you was able to have basic communication with him and finding out that he came from deep within the ocean.

You noticed that Huracan's wounds had slightly healed up, it was much better then what they were a few days ago- he was healing much faster then a human but you also noticed that his skin started to look even more dry even while he was in the water so you decided on taking him to the tidal pool that was close by to your house.

The boy enjoyed spending the whole day sub merged in a surrounding he was used to while you stayed close by and made sure he was safe and that his wounds won't open up, you noticed that his wounds were healing much faster in the sea water and maybe in a days time they would be completely healed.

Huracan for his age was also very curious, on the third day while he stayed in the bath tub, his gaze would fall on the tap and he would play with it causing the bath tub to over fill , the other day he had reached out for your toothpaste and had splattered it all across his hands and then pressed his tooth paste covered hands against your bathroom walls and when you came back into the bathroom, he just gave you a toothy grin at the mess he made.

You did notice that Huracan was bored laying in the bath tub so you gave him a small house tour which lead to him touching everything and being curious, what grabbed his attention the most was a stuffed whale plushie- it was a gift from your sister but when you saw Huracan hugging it close to him and seemed to relax with it in his grasp, you allowed him to take it.

Today, the two of you left the house early to go to the tidal pool- you thought that if you let Huracan to stay in the water for a bit longer today, his wounds would heal faster , you was also afraid to release him back into the ocean as he could still feel a lot of pain in his torso and you still needed to change his bandages and check on his stitches.

Gently balancing him on your side, the two of you walked down the steps that lead to the sand on the beach- you was glad this area was isolated from tourists and locals - as you help the boy walk towards the tidal pool.

The rocks form a unfinished circle, where on the inside- water from the ocean settled in. You gently places the boy inside the pool, a large smile stretched ear to ear when his feet touch the ocean water as he slowly sinks into the water, his skin turning into a warm milky brown as he floats in it.

You smiles as you watch Huracan splashing about in the water, submerging in it as you sat on one of the rocks just watching and keeping an eye on the boy , just in case if his stitches tear open.

Huracan dives into the water for a longer time, it's been more then ten minutes but you was used to it as you just waits for the boy to come back.

The surface ripples and the boy comes back up, a grin on his face as he extends his hand up to show you something.

"Il tin beetaj le ba'ax tin beetaj!" Huracan says in a cheerful tone, your brows knit together as you understood the word 'made' and 'look'.

The boy swims towards you and then shows you a bracelet he made out of seaweed , a pink sea shell knotted in the middle. It was hastily made but the effort put in it made your smile grow even bigger.

Huracan came closer to you, the smile on his face growing wider as he hands you the seaweed bracelet.

"In tia'al ? " you ask, her pronunciation a bit off but the boy understood as he nods his head vigorously taking the bracelet from your hand to tie it around your right wrist.

You extends your hand up , the sun gently glistening against the pretty sea shell he had found- your heart swelling lightly and a warm feeling spreading through out your as you looks back to see the boy once again splashing about in the water.

In these few days you spent with the youngster, you had felt calm. You didn't know much about him due to the language barrier but from the little you did knew, he was still just a kid - who was just from a different world from yours, he was just a kid that made your days feel a bit more brighter but then the nagging feeling that you will have to let him go back from where he came from constantly reminded you.

After spending some time in the water, you decided it was best to go back inside as you could feel a storm was starting to brew and you also needed to change Huracan's bandages, you reaches a hand out for the boy and he takes it without any hesitation, you noticed that his movements are much more fluid and that he may be healed by tomorrow.

You was about to carry the boy but he stops you by walking on his own-perfectly as he now insists to hold onto your hand.

The two of you walked along the shore, Huracan still holding on to your hand as you had placed a large hat and a towel around him to try and conceal as much of his blue skin just in case someone tries to come onto this part of the beach.

"Paakat!" the boy suddenly says, letting go of your hand and runs towards one of the rocks that were close to the ocean. This alarms you as you run after him and found him looking down at an octopus that seemed to be slowly drying up and it's skin a pale white and what looks like a six pack plastic ring stuck on one of its arm.

"Oh no, it must have washed up way too far from the water and this plastic on it making it worse." You say without hesitation you gently pull the ringed plastic off of it and lift the octopus in your hands, it's tenticles trying to curl around your wrists in any type of defense but it was too weak as you walked towards the ocean, your feet getting submerged in the cool ocean water as you gently placed the octopus in the water.

You watched for a few seconds as the octopus just sat on the sand but after a minute it's tentacles started moving, it's reddish color coming back to its skin as it grew bigger and suddenly just swam into the ocean without looking back causing you to laugh.

"Well it is good now" you state but still wary at the fact that it might get tangled in some plastic again. You turn to Huracan- to find that he was frowning and staring into the ocean, a look of sadness and longing- this causes a wave of guilt to wash over you as the boy might be missing his home and his family.

The salty sea breeze harshly blows against you, the clouds slowly turning a dark grey as rain gently drizzle from above.

"Don't worry, Huracan. Tomorrow definitely, I'll get you back into the ocean." You state, placing a gentle hand on the boy's back as the two of you both walk back towards the house.

PART 3

˚✩ | AUTHOR'S NOTE ; Sorry for the lack of Namor/K'uk'ulkan, I just wanted to show the small bond that is developing between you and Huracan ♡

if you do enjoy, please do like, reblog and comment <3

[husbandohunter]

A Furry Predicament, but reversed (Reader turns into a cat)? Pretty please with a sweet lil cherry on top? (I recently stumbled across your blog and may I just say that I absolutely adore your works??) Thank youu and take care~~

A Furrier Predicatment [Genshin x Cat!Reader]

♤♡◇♧☆

Synopsis: It's your turn to be a cat after this incident.

Characters: Diluc, Kaeya, Xiao, Albedo, Zhongli, Childe, Venti

(A/n): Ah you did OwO that's very sweet of you. It's alot of fun to write, especially when your imagination is stunted and you just gotta spit out something silly.

=======================

[Diluc]

Any beloved pet owned by Master Diluc would be under the most high quality and meticulous treatement. Mostly for cats since they tend to be calm while elegant...to some extent. If they were dogs then he'll ensure that they also serve as a partner for sniffing out trouble such as a certain bard who'd might've sneaked into the wine cellars. But you weren't either, so to say, you were both a beloved AND a cat.

As he picks you up gently into his arms, Diluc would be a little baffled on what to do next. He has no idea how to care for delicate creatures as he never had one (other than a pet tortoise but that's different) in which he needed to look for help. But who? The staff? Certainly not, no one can find out that his partner turned into a pet (imagine all the scandals he'll be in). Jean? Anything but the knights of Favonius. And most certainly not his brother.

So Diluc ends up figuring everything out by himself (old habits die hard). All the sweets and regular meals you craved were no long in your menu, you were forced to have a proper cat diet because he believed it was healthier. Half of the time he has no idea what he's doing, since you were a cat and all you could do was "meow" (which Diluc forgets. He tries to have a mundane conversation until you stare at him with feline eyes. That was when he remembered).

"What would you like for tonight's dinner, my love?"

"Meow." He has alot to learn.

Though Master Diluc often gets very tired and he attempts to take a quick nap before killing himself over the next set of duties. That is, until you could help it. Being a cat has it's furry and comfy advantages. So you leapt up to the bed as quietly as possible and onto the side of your lover, circling a few times to see if he was really asleep. When he was you snuggled close to keep him warm, hoping it would lull him into a rest even deeper. He slept like a baby.

~xx~

[Kaeya]

If the Cavalry Capatain were to own a pet, they would either be charmed by him or snaring their teeth because of his unreadable and suspicious aura. Animal instincts are quite powerful. But your case wasn't the latter, thankfully and he could feel himself growing fond of this new found relationship. Almost. What should he do with you now that you're a cat, Kaeya wonders.

Belly rubs and a lot of them. He absolutely adores the way your cute little nose scrunches up while he runs his fingers on the center of your tummy (though he knows when to stop, Kaeya is rather gentle with you nowadays). You found that he absolutely adores the shape of your nose, would pick you up and boop yours with his own somehow knows how to be his flirty self despite your unusual form.

There was this one incident where you saw something shiny flashing over the wall. Slowly you followed it as the bright dot moved futher and further away, evetually gaining speed. Little did you know it was Kaeya who was watching you swipe your little paws up and down against the wall while he was just cleaning his sword. How could he help it? You were often so headstrong and independent, now you were just an adorable little kitten that loves to play with yarn and shiny things. It backfired him though, now there were a bunch of scratchmarks marring the surfaces (which he had to pay for repairs).

Takes you out to Windrise so that you could get some fresh air (also for you to find somewhere else to shed your fur other than his humble abode). Kaeya sits back under a tree while you either chase a butterfly or start slapping against the dandelions (only sneeze when they fly into your face). He wasn't sure if you were aware of what you were doing right now, if you were then he'll have lots of things to talk about once you turn back into human. If not, then at least he had the opportunity to witness such a soft side coming from you.

~xx~

[Xiao]

If any animal were to go close towards the adeptus, they would run away. Xiao isn't very good at interacting with others, pets included, usually they would run into the alleyway or hide around the legs of their owners while he glaringly, blankly stares at them (Even though he wouldn't admit it, Xiao thinks to himself, how soft is cat fur?) Now he gets to touch your cat form and turns out that fur is very ticklish yet pleasant against his skin.

Would be the most awkward conversationalist, the poor yaksha was already terrible with his words (often coming out harsh so he prefers to either keep away or say nothing at all) and even with you sometimes, now it was almost impossible to communicate. Xiao is not very good at reading a cat's body language. When you want him to hold you again, you'd walk in circles. He assumes you were hungry and leaps out the window to go fetch some fish...for the nth time there was a pile of raw salmon stacking upon the floor. Xiao thinks that maybe salmon species weren't to your liking, hence he does out to find another one.

As he plays his flute, you'd magically doze off on his lap. (There was one thing that you both can communicate with at last). Slowly but surely, he comes to learn the different gestures you make for certain situations. You often rub yourself upon his leg which he had heard to be a cat's way of claiming their territory. That was when Xiao picks you up, FINALLY. Though the real reason why it took him this long was because he was hesitant to hold you. He never really held a pet so naturally he has no idea how to hold a cat. Ends up cradling you in his arms because it seemed to be a safer option <3

"I never thought I'd be able to hold you like this," Xiao softly says to your lazy form, observing the way your ears perked up at the sound of his voice, "But I...forget it. We can stay like this for the time being, if you'd like. If not, that's fine too."

You stay.

~xx~

[Albedo]

The only pets Albedo had were for his alchemic experiments (plus they were put in cages too). Fact be told, he would make a terrible pet owner with the lifestyle he has now. The alchemist would be so absorbent into his work that he'll most likely forget that he has someone to feed and by the time he realized it, they would have already starved to death. After hearing glass bottles crashing to the floor, Albedo bursts into the rooms as the smoke fills it completely, finding a cat lost between it. The cat was you. He knows because he made the potions.

Sometimes he'd a little too scientific for his own good. Albedo assumed that when you turned into a cat, you've gone into cat mode and ends up treating you as such. "No, don't go near any bodies of water. You wouldn't like it." He almost forgets that you were once human which is very much like him if you had to be honest. Though when he does find out that you still carried human traits, Albedo must find ways to adapt things to your liking.

He makes your food himself. He's not a cook but he sure is good at everything he does, even if it's something he never did before. This goes for other areas too such as the size of your bed, if you need a little couch to stay on or maybe some tools to play around. (The only time when he is a good pet owner). In his sketchbook he'd have a bunch of blueprints and contraptions of what to make next. There's something enjoyable when spoiling you, those little reactions when you're pleased, like the twitch of your whiskers or the lift of your tail. Albedo finds is very cute.

On top of all that, he could also make you a potion to turn you back into normal. It seemed that it was the last thing he thought of on the list. Albedo was too occupied with treating you like a cat that it all flew over his head until now. Time flies when you're having fun.

~xx~

[Zhongli]

Unlike Albedo, anyone who has Zhongli as a pet owner would be considered to be a very lucky animal. He radiates a calm and serene aura that gives the perfect environment to have infinite nap times. People look at this man and wonder why his pet never gives him any trouble, especially when cats were considered to be both fiesty and needy. But they just didn't know that the cat was you (not like it would make a difference, any animal would know that Zhongli was no ordinary man).

How on earth does he know what you're saying? Maybe it's because he was once an archon. You could meow and he knows exactly what you would like to snack on. You could tilt your head, he takes it that you were curious on what he was currently doing (which was exactly what you were wondering), you can say nothing at all yet as if he could read your mind, Zhongli comes over to pet you with his gloved hands.

"How can I tell? Indeed it is because you're my lover, of course. Throughout this time we spent together, I've come to learn the way you speak through your eyes. They seem to hold true no matter what form you take. It's rather comforting."

Though there were many moments where you sneak up behind Zhongli. His hair, his ponytail- so long. Must play with. As you jump up and down with his thin strand swings side to side, it'll take a few seconds for him to decipher what your were doing. The minute he turns around he catches you with his hands midair and laughs heartfully. Cats were very endearing creatures.

~xx~

[Childe]

Back home in Snezhnaya, Childe would probably have owned a dog or two. They were mostly meant for hunting purposes, big and large furry creatures with thick skin suitable to endure the harsh cold. He has dogs because cats hate him for some strange reason. They either hiss or snootly turn their backs on him, one time he picked one up as a kid but his face bleeding after the cat scratched him with their paws. But of course you wouldn't do that to him. You would never~ he was your cutie pie anyways.

He was an obnoxious hugger, not gentle at all. Childe forgets his strength as a human man and when he squeezes you tightly against his chest, you'd spike out on all ends because by the archons, you're suffocating. But it was your fault for feeling so comfy and warm! Similar to Kaeya, they're both obnoxious but Childe deemed himself to be even worse. He'd rub his face against yours, commenting on how sensitive it sways. Tonia once told him that she wanted a pet cat instead, maybe he should also bring you back to his homeland now.

Yes he would love to play with you. Bring in the cat toys...or not. This was the eleventh Fatui Harbinger, what were you thinking? Normal cat activities? Not here. He's gonna teach you how to hunt like how he taught his dogs to hunt in Snezhnaya. You gave him the most deadpanned and dissapointed look with your large feline glare. Not only was he disliked by cats but he certainly was not good with them.

Though he can take it down a notch sometimes and just indulge in relaxing activities. When there was nothing else for him to do or when he was just tired after a productive day, he'd sit by the kitchen and you on top of the table. While you yawned and leaned down for a nap, Childe plays with the small of your paws to the soft edge of your nails. If he taps your nose, your whiskers twitch. Your ears are nice, maybe he should get you a headband version once you turned back to human.

You immediately wake up when he touches your tail.

~xx~

[Venti]

Achoo!

You sometimes wonder how is it that the anemo archon was able to live through 2000 years without getting beaten up by a cat. If andrius was a large cougar than a wolf, maybe he wouldn't be an archon now. Which is why you are to stay miles far far away from him unless you want the whole of Mondstadt to be blown away by the wind.

Wears a mask (as if this were the covid19 pandemic), although it doesn't take away all his problems, at least it'll minimize it. Venti always has a box of tissues ready but you can tell by the puffiness of his eyes that he's been sneezing alot. He really tries his hardest to pitch in every once in a while when Albedo was working on a cure for you to go back to normal. Though acts as if he was quarantined by staying all the way at the other side of the room.

"Ahahaha don't mind me. It's your local bard of Mondstadt dropping by to see how things are going. I wanna make sure how long it will take for you to make the potion? Just curious!"

No hugs, cuddles or anything involving close proximity. This makes Venti very pouty and impatient. Albedo finds it very hard to concentrate with all the sniffling and sneezing that he had no choice but to kick him out. It didn't help that the location was Dragonspine, now he was sneezing even more.

[regicidal-defenestration]

Mechtober Day 30 - Death/Endings

@mechtober2022

"Captain Reeve of the SS Ursa Major speaking, log number 43, standard date 30/2/97.

"All supplies are at good levels for our current progress, algae production is a little under quota but M. Jackson assures me we still have enough for our fuel. Various minor repairs have been carried out to moderate success, but the lights will actually switch on now so I'm not going to complain. Crew in better spirits than last week, or at least they're not threatening the food stasis chamber anymore. Reports of my joining in on the threats have, ah, probably been exaggerated but I can't say I'll be upset when we touch down planetside and finally get some fresh vegetables. Have tasked M. Ness with increasing the efficiency of the engine and that seems to be working at keeping xem out of trouble.

"Then there's the matter of our, uh, newest passenger, she's currently present as I record this. Joined us on 21/2/97, refer back to log number, uh, 41 it'll be.

"Crew have taken to calling her Borealis, from the system we found her in. Still hasn't spoken, though she evidently understands us since she communicates in other ways, albeit rarely I admit. Two days ago she agreed to Dr. Lora carrying out a full medical examination, results of which show a clean bill of health. Nothing out of the ordinary for a human in her later twenties.She will stay with us until we next touch down planetside or…"

Reeve pauses, rubbing his eyes. She glances up at the woman sitting opposite, the one the crew have call Borealis. 

Part of him reaches a decision.

"Skies- okay fuck it, I'm sorry, I can't keep up the professionalism anymore. And if some pencil pushing desk jockey is thinking of writing me up for this- well- just hear me out, okay?"

She looks over at Borealis, then motions to the voice recorder. Asking if Borealis wants to tell her own story.

Borealis just shakes her head, making what Reeve assumes is a you go on gesture. He takes another moment to gather his thoughts before continuing:

"Okay, yeah, alright, because the thing is, Borealis got a clean bill of health, yes? Great, good, we like not having medical emergencies on board. 

"But that leaves me to ask, how the fuck can someone float - entirely exposed! - in the vacuum of space, for however long it was before we picked her up, and come out of the other end perfectly healthy? And when I say perfectly healthy I, uh, would like to note that this is excluding the blood test results, which just showed mercury. Not, not mercury in her blood, I mean mercury instead of."

A heavy sigh. She's had to rethink a lot of her held beliefs about how the world works recently.

"Look- look okay yes, I know how this sounds. You're probably sat there at your little desk thinking “skies above, she's lost his mind, he needs to be removed from active duty before she fucks something up fatally”. But Lora's medical files are all here. Read them. Or, get someone with higher security clearance to read them, and ask really nicely for the summary.

"Because I am not even in the vicinity of fucking around right now. We have, on board, an otherwise perfectly normal, alive, human who has pure liquid mercury in her veins and survived in space for-"

"Nearly 78 years," Borealis interrupts.

Reeve yelps in surprise.

"Well fuck me! You can talk!"

Then she grimaces.

"Ah, sorry. You surprised me. Uh, so, for the benefit of the log, that's Borealis who just spoke. Wait- what's your name?"

"Nastya."

He offers B- no, Nastya- a smile he hopes is reassuring.

"Then it's nice to meet you properly, Nastya."

A pause.

"Can I, can I ask…?"

"You are wondering how I can survive, yes? You will have to content yourself with not knowing."

"But-" Reeve tries to protest. Nastya interrupts her before she can get any more out.

"No. Was it a mistake when Carmilla brought us back? My opinion changes still."

That last part was quiet, like Nastya had entirely forgotten Reeve was there. For a moment, there's a faraway look on her face, before she jolts back to the present.

"But I do know this - the secret of what she did should die with us. And I am dead, that is all you need to know."

Reeve blinks. 

Dead?, he thinks.

"Dead?", she says aloud. "But you're here, speaking, breathing, the all of it!" She gestures at Nastya. 

"You're - this is gonna sound so rude I do apologise - you're unnaturally alive."

She makes a maybe gesture.

“Yes. And no. I… felt my blood slow and solidify in my veins, and I knew I was dying. When we wrote ourselves immortal, the universe believed us, and when I wrote myself an ending it believed me then. I think, I think I believed myself too, for a bit.”

The pause lasts forever.

“So I took the last memory I had of my love, and I cast myself into the void. And there I floated, systems offline, until you found me. I am alive, I breathe, and yet - for all intents and purposes - I am dead.”

Either that was an elaborate metaphor - which Reeve never could get the hang of - or she was telling the truth, which would be exponentially worse.

"You faked your death?" he asks, not a bad guess considering. "You’re not on the run from the authorities or anything?"

“I’m definitely wanted by the authorities, but that is another point entirely."

Nastya laughs at his gobsmacked expression.

"Don't worry about it. Let’s say though: yes, I did fake my death. I lied to the universe in its entirety that I was dead, and got away whilst everyone was distracted.”

Huh.

It didn't make sense, per se. You couldn't get a fake death notice to trick the abstract concept of "the universe".

Then again, it was a big world out there. Skies only knew she'd seen some weird shit out in space.

"So you’re gonna just, what?, stay on the run? Will no-one notice that reports of your death were greatly exaggerated?"

Nastya's laugh is genuine.

“No. I’m going to find some forgotten corner on some backwater asteroid and camp out there.. If I live a quiet enough life, then there will be nothing to sing about. The universe will look over me in search of something more interesting.”

There's something unspoken there. A quiet life, a life alone. Lonely at the end of space, maybe to end when Nastya died, or maybe she never would now, and would keep living until the stars gave out.

It sounded nightmarish.

Didn't Nastya have someone though? Reeve is sure she mentioned-

"You- didn't you say you had a lover? Maybe if-"

“She's dead.”

There's grief in Nastya's voice, but a quiet acceptance too. It must have happened a long time ago.

Reeve makes a fist, pressing it to his heart.

"I’m sorry."

Nastya offers an almost-smile. When she speaks, her voice is small.

“She… she died one piece at a time, until one day I looked into her eyes and saw no trace of the one who I had loved. The bonds between us faded and broke one by one. It's a terrible thing to love someone like that. When the one now bearing her body and name is not the one you fell in love with."

She stops, wiping at her eyes with a sleeve.

"Sometimes I dream that I'll find her again, on the other side of the horizon. At the end of everything."

Nastya is deep in her memories now, saying nothing. Reeve reaches over, taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently.

It's as cold as the grave.

They sit there as the silence expands around them. Reeve wishes she could say something, but this is grief on a timescale he can't even begin to conceptualise.

Maybe it's a long time before Nastya next speaks, or maybe it only seemed like that. She squeezes Reeve's hand in return before taking hers back.

"Look at me," she says in a thick voice. "I'm sure you have more important things to do than listen to an old lady's sorrows."

Old? Reeve almost asks, but figured Nastya was right. She'd content herself with not knowing.

"Not too much, honestly," she says instead. "I'll finish this report log an-"

“Report?”

There's a sudden sharpness to Nastya's voice.

"Yeah, uh-"

"No. The music is broken, okay? There is no more music, no more story. There is no-one pulling my strings, there is no-one writing out my actions. I am dead, I have ended. The universe moves on without me and this is the freest I have ever been."

Desperation creeps in.

"Please, let me stay that way."

And Reeve wants to, skies he wants to. But lying to Central is unthinkable and not sending a report at all is even more so. Besides - it wouldn't just be his job on the line. Her entire crew could go down with her.

"I- Central- Central policy states I have to make these logs, twice a week minimum," he tries to explain. "Doctors reports, maintenance records, observations. I’m sorry, I don't know-"

A beat.

Then Nastya's pushing herself up and away from the desk, half-running out of the door. 

Reeve lets her go.

He sighs, burying her face in her hands.

"Yeah," she says quietly, in a way that doesn't make it all alright.

"Yeah…"

"I guess this is Captain Reeve signing-"

And that's when she cuts herself off. He watches the light on the recorder flash its steady rhythm. Waiting for her.

"Fuck it."

She almost laughs.

"Recorder, delete that entire log. Get up all of them since the 21st too, they need editing. Oh, and call in Lora too. There's something important we need to talk about."

[the-badger-mole]

Can you write a short story with a jealous Zuko?

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE

Zuko was used to being overshadowed. By Azula; by Lu Ten; by Avatar Aang. It still often annoyed him to know that the most he could aim for was second best to someone else, no matter where he was. But he never minded when it came to Katara. Give her enough time, Zuko often told himself, and she could bring the entire world to its knees. She'd saved his life in more ways than he could count. She had saved them all, and there would never be enough people singing her praises as far as Zuko was concerned. She stood out no matter where she was. Even in spaces where the Fire Lord should have been the center of attention, Zuko knew he didn't stand a chance when Master Katara entered the room.

It should have annoyed him, Zuko thought, but it didn't. She was sunshine, for all she was a child of Water, and she drew everyone towards her like plants reaching up for Agni's rays. When she laughed, it filled the room- a bit too loud to be polite, but too infectious to really be upset over. She talked with high-ranking nobles with passion, leaving them stunned at her knowledge and convictions- this woman who was barely not a child anymore. She had earned the grudging respect of Zuko's council, which even he hadn't succeeded in doing. He should be jealous, but he watched Katara make her way around the room with pride. Maybe he wasn't as eloquent or magnetic as Katara, but he was her friend. He knew her in a way few- if any- in that room would ever know her.

Someone- Iroh, Zuko guessed- had signaled for the band to start playing. Business was done for the day. Soon the crowd had reshuffled itself, and couples began making their way to the dance floor while everyone else made their way to the buffet tables lining one end of the hall. Katara met Zuko's eyes across the room, and with a warm smile, made her way over to him. She seemed to glow supernaturally. Zuko cast a surreptitious glance to see if some prankster had aimed a spotlight on her. Was it just Zuko? How was no one else being blinded by the way the light reflected off her smile? Her hair? Her skin? Zuko swallowed hard, trying to unstick his tongue from the roof of his suddenly dry mouth.

Katara's smile widened and she opened her mouth to greet him.

"Excuse...um...p-pardon me." Katara turned in surprise to the young man who had approached her. Zuko recognized him vaguely, and he scrambled to place a name. Katara spared him the ordeal of guessing.

"Lord Jee-Soo," she smiled politely at King Kuei's cousin, though Zuko could see an odd tightness in the corners of Katara's eyes. Jee Soo, however, did not notice. His face was tinged pink and he leaned forward in a stiff, formal bow.

"I-I hope I'm not disturbing you," he said. "I was hoping that...that maybe you...er, that is...would you grant me the honor of a dance."

Zuko froze. A shock went down his spine as if someone had walked across a carpet and touched his skin. Katara gaped at him in surprise. Her cheeks flushed a pretty dusky red. Jee Soo smiled at her, nervous and hopeful. She cast a glance at Zuko, trying to communicate... something.

"Oh!" Katara gasped. "Well... I was just going to..." She cast another look at Zuko before she shrugged and smiled at Jee Soo. "Um... sure, I'd love to."

Zuko watched silently as Jee Soo wrapped a clammy-looking hand around Katara's and led her out to the dance floor. His hand squeezed his punch cup dangerously tight as Jee Soo slid his arm around Katara's waist and pulled her as close as propriety would allow. His breath caught in his throat as the young Earth Kingdom noble said something that caused Katara's nose to crinkle in amusement.

"Take care, Fire Lord Zuko," Iroh sidled up to his nephew, with an affable smile and a knowing gleam in his eye. "Someone might think there's trouble between the Fire Nation and Ba Sing Se the way you're glaring at young Lord Jee Soo."

"I'm not glaring!" Zuko insisted hotly. Still, he turned his scowl on his uncle instead.

"She would have danced with you if you'd asked," Iroh told him. "I'm sure she still would."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zuko grumbled.

"Oh no?" Iroh tried unsuccessfully to hide his amusement. "My mistake. It's been a long time since I was young and in love. Perhaps I don't remember the signs as well as I thought."

"Perhaps not!" Zuko knew he was being peevish, but his uncle was overstepping. Zuko had admitted to having a small crush on Katara years ago, and Iroh had never forgotten, even though Zuko had gotten over her a long time ago. She was dating one of his best friends at the time.

But not anymore.

The traitorous, smug voice in his head sounded annoyingly like his uncle. It was true that Katara had broken up with Aang, but it made no difference. Even if he wasn't over Katara- and he was over her- she and Aang hadn't split on the best of terms. It wouldn't be fair to either of his friends for Zuko to insert himself in the middle of that.

On the dance floor, Jee Soo seemed to have gained some confidence. He twirled and spun Katara with expert ease. If Katara had been hesitant to dance with him before, she seemed happy enough now. Her eyes were bright and her face pink with the exertion of the dance. She was having a good time, and Jee Soo gazed at her as if half in love already.

Zuko could dance. He could dance at least as well as Jee Soo. Others may outshine him in literally every other part of his life, but Zuko's mastery of dance was part of what made the Blue Spirit so deadly. Maybe he could challenge Jee Soo to a friendly competition. Katara could be the judge. Maybe the first prize could be a kiss...

Zuko shook his head. Dangerous territory. She was just coming out of a serious relationship. With one of his best friends. True they had broken up almost a year ago. Also true that Aang hadn't been in close contact with any of them since the breakup. And there was speculation that things had ended because Aang had cheated. But Zuko didn't know that for sure. No one knew for sure except Katara and Aang. Suki probably had more of the story, which Toph probably bullied out of her. And Sokka at least suspected if his coldness towards Aang at the last summit was any indication.

Dangerous territory. Friends don't go after a friend's exes. Even if you happened to have had a thing for said ex before your friend started dating them. Even if that ex was also your best friend.

Jee Soo dipped Katara, causing her to let out a nervous, but giddy laugh. Her hands clutched at Jee Soo tightly, to keep herself steady, but as a result, they were much closer than they started at the beginning of the dance. Jee Soo's face lit up with a grin as he did it again. And again. And again.

Didn't this guy know any other moves? Katara was going to catch on to him, and she would be annoyed. Wouldn't she? Zuko knew she'd been out with a couple of other guys since the breakup. Nothing serious, though, Suki had informed him. No one who lasted more than a month. Still, Zuko wasn't sure what her type was anymore. Jee Soo reminded Zuko a bit of Aang, but just because Katara had dated Aang for three years doesn't mean he was her type. Maybe she was into quieter guys who got way too deep in their own heads and overthought hypothetical situations until they lost entire nights of sleep worrying about problems that didn't actually exist. Yeah...for sure that's what Katara would find attractive.

How long was this song, Zuko wondered. Jee Soo was dipping Katara again, though she seemed to be getting tired of it. Her smile was that polite, tight smile that she'd given him earlier when she wasn't sure she wanted him to interrupt her. Zuko saw her say something to him, probably asking him to keep her upright for a while. Jee Soo laughed and shook his head and said something teasing as he pulled her closer. Katara's smile fell away completely, and Zuko saw she was getting mad. He was halfway across the dance floor before he'd even realized he was going to go over. He was ready to yank Jee Soo away, and if necessary, deck the creep for not respecting Katara's reasonable wish. But before he got to them, Jee Soo had stepped away with a deep, embarrassed blush on his face.

"I'm so sorry," Jee Soo was saying as Zuko got closer. "Honestly, I was just trying to...well, I didn't mean to upset you or offend you."

"It's alright, Jee Soo," Katara said patiently. Her smile was back in place. The song ended, finally, and another one started up.

"Would you...like to dance again?" Jee Soo asked.

"I'm a bit tired," Katara begged off. "But I'll bet Kimiko would love you to ask her. Don't say I told you, but she's been checking you out." That didn't seem to soothe Jee Soo's disappointment, but he accepted the rejection graciously enough.

"Seems like you had fun," Zuko said. Katara sighed tiredly and slipped her arm through his.

"I thought the song would never end!" she groaned. "It was like dancing with Aang. Fun for the first minute, but he was doing way too much. All the dipping gave me vertigo." Zuko heard that with interest.

"I didn't realize you weren't having fun," he tried to keep his voice even as he led them away from the dance floor over to the punch table. "I would have come rescue you if I'd realized. We should come up with some sort of sign when you want me to cut in."

"You never dance at these things," Katara pointed out.

"I'd make an exception for you." Zuko blushed and scrambled to cover. "I mean, I'd do it if it saved you from some over-eager guy who can't take a hint."

"My hero." Katara scrunched her nose up at Zuko and leaned against him. It was adorable! Zuko had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from grinning.

"Actually..." Katara said slowly. "I was coming over to ask you to dance before Jee Soo interrupted."

"Really?" Zuko's voice hit an octave it hadn't hit since he was fourteen and his voice was still dropping. He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the fact that Katara was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Yeah," she nodded her head. "I know you don't really like dancing, but maybe you can preemptively cut in for me? Someone told me that Lord Hino's son wanted to ask me for a dance." Zuko grimaced. Lord Hino was one of his most trusted advisors, but his son was a famous klutz with two left feet. No woman left the dance floor without bruised feet when she danced with him.

"You told Jee Soo you were tired," Zuko reminded her. Why, he yelled internally, would he say that? Fortunately, Katara just shrugged and looked up at him coyly from the corner of her eye.

"I'd make an exception for you," she said quietly. Zuko froze midstep. Katara looked up at him in alarm. There was a spectacular blush rising from her neck towards her hairline, and a panicked retraction already on her lips. Zuko turned to her and took her hand. Then in a move that would have pleased every last one of his etiquette tutors and his uncle, if he was watching, Zuko bowed elegantly and brushed a feathery light kiss on Katara's fingertips. He lifted his gaze with an impish grin.

"I would be honored," he said, "to have this dance." Katara nodded speechlessly and allowed Zuko to lead her out to the dance floor again.

Zuko was used to being overshadowed. He wasn't the most powerful bender, or the most charismatic leader. He wasn't the most handsome man or the most eloquent. But there on the dancefloor, with the most beautiful woman in at the ball in his arms, he knew that no one could match him for dancing. Katara seemed to agree because she accepted his request for another dance. And another. And another...

[yandere-sins]

Routine

I had the absolute pleasure to write for @bellanovas who wished for a continuation for the events after Different ♥ Thank you so much for your support over Ko-fi and then continously as a commission, you’re awesome!

Characters: Yandere!Atsumu Miya x Fem!Reader x Yandere!Osamu Miya (For clarification: While they reader in the previous one-shots used they/them pronouns, we used she/her here) Warnings: Yandere, Kidnapping, Emotional Meltdown, Forced Affection, Attempted Feeding

Even you knew the charm of routine. 

Even though you were kidnapped and held in this apartment against your will by not one but two crazy men, you understood how a routine helped you to look forward to certain things and not so much to others. Still, it was nice knowing Osamu woke up first, letting you and his brother pull the blanket over your heads a few minutes more until Atsumu had to get up for his morning run and you for your breakfast. You always looked forward to them leaving for the day, despite it meaning they were going to lock you in your room, but at least you had some alone time to either keep napping, read a book, or play a game. It was also the only time you were able to shower or bath without always having the nagging feeling of someone waiting at the door for you, trying to get in even though they knew you locked it. 

Routine meant knowing that your peace would be disturbed with either of the two coming home. There wasn’t a pattern to who returned first and when, the two of them communicating it throughout the day without having a way of letting you know - and not always wanting you to know either. If it was Osamu, you knew you’d at least get dinner soon. If it was Atsumu who walked through the door, a big idiotic grin on his face when he saw you, you sighed, wishing he’d still be at practice. At least, if Atsumu let go of you, he let you roam the full apartment and often brought you new things to get busy with.

However, that was only your day. The meaning of ‘routine’ meant something different entirely for the twins.

Cornering you against the wall, you averted your face to escape the smell of a deodorant shower mixed with sweat. It couldn’t be helped; Atsumu was what he wanted to be - an athlete. Nonetheless, he liked to disregard your personal space in favor of getting closer and closer, even if he only just returned home after a long day, immediately causing a ruckus. 

You see, for the twins, you were the height of their days. No matter how much they enjoyed their daily activities, once they were done, you were the only thing on their mind. No amount of desire and yearning could come close to the drive they felt rushing back from their work to their home to continue their routine of loving you. A feature of this routine was that things you did once had to be shown again. Had to be experienced again, especially if they were cute. 

Thus, your current suffering involved a grown man cornering you, trying to squeeze out the sweet, sweet ‘Welcome Home’ you muttered to him while your mind was foggy from the pleasure you had experienced on that day. It had become a part he’d have liked to implement in his routine, especially with how stubborn you turned out to be when it came to repeating it. You weren’t raising your hands or struggled as much as you did at first when they kidnapped you, but this was a matter of principle. Once you gave in to Atsumu, you’d always have to do it, and once they had this little bit, they’d demand more enthusiasm and more work. You’ve been with them long enough. You knew how these things would end.

It had been foolish, you couldn’t lie. Even though you had only tried to soothe the flared tempers of your captors with these words and were driven by serotonin and other feelings of happiness, you could only blame yourself for doing what you did. Never before had you shown even the smallest enthusiasm over their return, and having, especially Atsumu, latch on to that now, was just an immediate consequence. Any piece of affection you gave him was swallowed wholly and manifested in his head as a new routine for him. Had it been anything else - a kiss, a hug, an apology - you’d be in the same predicament, but it just had to be this silly greeting.

Perhaps you should have tried humoring him just to please him and get him off you, but the thought alone made you want to throw up. Once you’d allow this to fester in his routine, Osamu, too, would demand the same treatment. Before you knew it, the words alone wouldn’t be enough to satisfy their growing hunger for your attention. Suddenly you’d have to be affectionate with them when they arrived at your door, and they’d start to crave for more than you had to offer. There would be no avoiding or forgetting about something they made their routine, and soon enough, it would need to become part of your schedule too.

“I’m home,” he cooed, leaning forward to kiss your forehead. He was prompting you, fishing for what he wanted. Atsumu had a gift to ignore failure, simply trying it again even if his endeavors hadn’t been successful yet. ‘No’ wasn’t in his dictionary, and his understanding of you entirely revolved around loving you and gaining attention and praise from you. Fighting him was the worst. Though Osamu scared you more on a general day-to-day-basis, Atsumu was undeniably trickier than his brother. At least Osamu knew how to take a hint, while Atsumu ignored any and all that didn’t suit him. 

“Home,” he continued, lips fluttering against your temple. “Home~” Another kiss to your chin. Arms started to crawl around your body, feeling like caterpillars wandering over your skin. Knowing what was about to happen, you tensed up, feeling your flight instincts setting in. But where to? Atsumu was already all around you. 

Reluctantly you complied with Atsumu’s demands, his pulls and pushes leading you to the nearby couch. You knew if you wouldn’t move by your own efforts, he’d drag you with him, and not very gently so. At least that much you had already gone through, experienced, and submitted to. You preferred moving over bruising from his grips and pulls. It still wasn’t easy to give in to the fall when Atsumu plummeted onto the cushions, making you lose your steady feet on the ground in favor of seating you on his lap. Still, even that was manageable, though you wished you could have chosen any other position than straddling him. 

The two of you settled like this, his deodorant still filling your nose with its pungent smell, but the hand placing upon the back of your head pushed you forward into his chest relentlessly. It was dizzying but not the worst thing you ever smelled, even though you’d have preferred his deodorant not to be as strong and musky. 

Satisfied, Atsumu embraced you tightly for a few seconds, taking a deep breath of you in return, until you started to stir from the uncomfortable hug. At least for now, you figured he had given up on demanding your sweet voice to welcome him home, if only so because he wanted to cuddle. It may seem like a compromise to him, but you knew it was him forcing you to decide which was the greater bad of the two options he was giving you. Nothing was stopping Atsumu from burying his hands beneath your shirt, his skin noticeably colder than you after he just came home, enough to make you flinch lightly and dig your hands into his arms. 

You tried to get up and free yourself. Still, Atsumu merely chuckled, his response a joking yet demanding, “No! Warm me!” as he reached up all the way over your back, well-maintained, soft hands digging into your sides roughly. Taking a sharp breath, you had a hard time toggling the pain and uncomfortableness that rose in you, wondering what he was up to while Atsumu remained calm and indifferent about your struggles. A few more shifts were all you did, feeling his fingertips squeeze you harder every time you moved, forcing you to give up if you wanted him to release you from the pain.

Immediately, his hands became soft again as he felt you slump in his hug submissively, Atsumu too taking a deep breath before rubbing his cheek against yours affectionately. The areas he had just clenched down on burned up quickly, but you felt the relief set in as the pain slowly subsided. Littering the side of your face with kisses, he finally pulled out a hand from your shirt again, directing your head against his chest once more. You could feel his body relax as he followed your example to slump into the couch, one hand caressing the back of your head with slow, tender strokes while the other one held you in place around your waist precautiously, so you wouldn’t jump up. He held you like a precious, loved child, though he was nothing even remotely close to a parent.

There was no escape from someone so eager to pretend this was a healthy relationship. That you were an actual couple hugging and embracing each other, even if you were more of a limp doll in his arms, barely able to bring up the enthusiasm to hold him in return. All you did was fixate your eyes on the entrance to your room while your ear rested against Atsumu’s chest, hearing an excited beating through his shirt. 

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. 

“I did really well today! Everyone was praising me for my setting,” Atsumu began to recount.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

“And Bokkun, he--” Interrupting himself with a laugh, Atsumu shook his head, heart beginning to race a little faster. “He tried to look extra cool, but he totally jumped into the net today and got stuck!”

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. 

“What about you?” he shifted his attention, and you knew he looked down at the top of your head from above, his thumb coming forth to brush over your eyebrows. “I played Mario Kart today,” you whispered, unwilling to create an awkward silence and cause him to urge you on with more painful touches. 

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. 

“Let’s play together after dinner!” Atsumu enthusiastically exclaimed, and you knew it wasn’t an invitation, but a firm statement of how you were going to spend your evening. It also didn’t surprise you that despite talking about Volleyball before, his heart only began to race now that you had spoken up. Atsumu could be that easy to read if he allowed it. 

You thought of the possibility of a nap as he kept spluttering excitedly about how he was going to win against you and how much better he was at games than his brother. Atsumu called it ‘the perk of being the older twin’ that he was winning so much, despite you remembering that he lost almost all the games lately, suspecting it was because he tried to gain your approval by letting you win. 

But your stream of thoughts were harshly interrupted by a sudden hand grabbing you by the arm, pulling you off Atsumu’s lap and out of his embrace. Atsumu’s merrily blabbering came to a halt, and you caught a glimpse of his face wrinkling while you fought with getting to your feet alone. “Go shower, you stink, ‘Tsumu,” you heard Osamu’s familiar voice raise behind you, another help coming to support your struggles.

“It’s not like [Name] cared,” Atsumu hissed, rising after you, their two bodies giving you a feeling of menace as they kept you between each other. “We just enjoyed cuddling, what’s wrong with you?!”

“It’s dinnertime, and you’re still not showered and changed, that’s what’s wrong, Dumbass.”

Atsumu did a short, upset flinch, a huff falling off his lips before he trotted off, pouting. Nothing angered him more than admitting his faults, and Osamu pointing them out didn’t help his swollen ego. Finally, after what seemed to be a quick pat-down, Osamu’s hands disappeared too, and he muttered a short “‘am home,” when you finally turned around, though other than Atsumu he wasn’t as persistent on you returning the greeting as you avoided your eyes and ignored it. Still, he waited for a hesitant, unsure moment, and you supposed the stakes were high when even Osamu considered delaying his routine just to hear your response.

But nodding slowly, his patience took over, and he turned to leave, having you trot after him with a relieved, inwardly sigh. Passing by the twin’s bathroom, you heard Atsumu’s phone play music as he started up a shower behind the door, but with Osamu being unbothered by it, you couldn’t care much about it either. Instead, you felt your stomach grumbling, your last meal having taken place well over five hours ago.

Absentmindedly as you thought back to the bread and egg you had in the morning, you stepped behind the kitchen isle, only to gain a very sharp, alert glare from Osamu, catching you by surprise. Understanding quickly, you were back on the other side, sliding onto one of the three stools on the other side of the kitchen counter, waiting patiently, for this was Osamu’s routine and not yours. 

Where you got your food depended on what either of the twins was feeling like. For Atsumu, it could be a quick plate of pasta on the table in your room or convenience store-bought items on the couch while watching TV. But for Osamu, when it came to be his turn - and luckily that was more often than Atsumu’s - he had you sitting pretty and proper at his side as he finished dinner, mostly served in the kitchen for convenience. 

Cooking was a skill he had in his blood. No wonder he raised ‘Onigiri Miya’ to be a famous hotspot in no time. But besides lavish onigiri, he also was decent with everything else he tried out and wasn’t stingy on bringing home fresh ingredients to feed you and his brother. Even Atsumu’s unique needs for his sports career were met by Osamu’s food, and though he did it with a straight face, you knew he enjoyed cooking very much. 

Being dependent was despicable, that much you knew, but even so, his food could make the world a little better. Even if you wished it wasn’t, well, from someone so toxic and sinister. Someone, whose greatest pleasure was watching you eat the food he prepared for you. Someone who was that kind of crazy. 

It was criminal that the plate before you smelled so damn good. 

Going without food for a long time, or even just a few more hours than usual that day, it was heaven to smell the curry whose steam rose to your nose sweetly. Without doing anything lately to upset Osamu, he even picked out the vegetables and ingredients you liked. A trick he liked to use on you whenever you ‘misbehaved’ was feeding you with only the things you despised. So right now, it was pure bliss, even though you knew it was nothing short of being the reward part of his carrot and stick methods.

You started to scoop a spoonful of it up, not waiting for any signal - you didn’t have to do that, luckily - before putting it in your mouth, letting the hearty taste lay down on your taste buds and the comfortable warmth spread in your body. Usually, you cursed Osamu in your mind, but this day all you could think of was how wonderful the nourishing this meal was for you. Enthusiastically, you kept stuffing your mouth full with it, hoping you’d never get full and your plate never empty.

At least for a while, it truly seemed that way, as you ate and ate some more. However, soon enough, your tummy started to feel stuffed, every spoon getting harder and harder to swallow. You weren’t sure why you were feeling this way when you snapped back from your food trance, hesitating to take the next spoon, only to catch an entirely different spoon putting rice and curry on your plate. Confused, you looked up and at Osamu, who had a very pure and tender smile playing on his lips as he kept taking small portions from his plate, to leave them on yours. 

“Uhm…” you mumbled, blinking a few times in confusion, and he, too, seemed to snap out of his thoughts, meeting your gaze wordlessly. “I’m full, so…” you tried to explain, putting your spoon aside. “Why? Don’t you like it?” It was almost laughable with how much his voice dipped low in disappointment as he said that, Osamu’s eyeing your plate gloomily, shoulder’s slacking. “N-No, it was delicious,” you muttered, a pang of nervosity driving through you. The last thing you wanted was to get on his bad side now. 

“Well, then,” he chirped up again, continuing his curry transfer. “You had no dinner yesterday, after… you know…”

Oh, you knew. And frankly, remembering it now made you feel even worse about the kitchen counter you had sullied the day before with your actions than you usually felt sitting here and contemplating your life choices as Osamu cooked. “Breakfast wasn’t much, so I wanted to make sure you eat enough today.”

“I’m fine, really,” you assured him, but Osamu biting his lip with a doubtful shine in his eyes almost made it seem like he couldn’t believe it even after you ate your portion and most of his. “One more,” he prompted, holding up the hill of rice-curry-mix on his spoon to you, and you felt your stomach turn both from thinking about consuming any more and from letting him feed you. Backing away ever so slightly, you bit back on the urge to decline his offer verbally, instead taking your own spoon to eat from your own plate with your own cutlery. 

Osamu merely watched, a shade falling over his eyes. Still, unprompted, he proceeded to leave the fill on his spoon on your plate again, proceeding to push you to eat more. You didn’t like to acknowledge this side of him, always wanting to believe he was more mature and tempered than his brother, but Osamu, too, could take too much pride in his doings and get pouty when he didn’t get the recognition for his work. It was a bad trait they shared, and though you tried to ignore his watchful eyes whenever you ate his cooking, you knew he was watching you with boundless joy because it was his cooking you were eating. Sometimes, like that day, you even ate with pleasure. 

It made you aware that he reveled in this feeling of being your provider, the hand feeding you, and you wondered if he always thought this way about himself, or only now that you had allowed him closer than ever to you, caressing the remnants of doubts into security. Perhaps, he felt more confirmed in his beliefs after you led him on, believed more in a connection than he did before. 

Scooping only the smallest amount of curry onto your tool, you proceeded to have some more tastes, hoping it would satisfy Osamu if he saw you eat at least a bit more. You dared to think not even he really knew what he wanted from you, and his actions were only placeholders for his true intentions. The intentions of watching you do things that were pleasing to him. 

Even though the hand enveloping yours suddenly came as a shock, it was almost a saving grace if not for the person behind it. Cooling drops of water fell onto the side of your face, and your shoulder as Atsumu leaned over your side, pulling the spoon to his mouth with a loud, “Aah!” 

Before anyone could react, he had already taken a mouthful, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb while his other hand held up the towel around his hips. “It’s good!” he announced, letting out a fond sigh while licking his lips. “Where’s my plate?”

“Where are your clothes?” Osamu retorted sharply.

“In my room, why?”

Staring each other down while Atsumu used your hand casually to keep feeding himself curry, you were both baffled by the exchange as well as him not getting his own spoon or not use your hand to navigate food to his maw. Mannerly, you turned a blind eye towards the towel or the lack of clothes thereof, but an uncomfortable friction began to spread in the air nonetheless.

“Get some clothes and stop spreading water all over the floor, and we can talk about you getting dinner.”

“You’re too sticky with yer damn rules,” Atsumu complained, finally letting go of your hand and turning to leave for his room. “What if someone slips? What if she,” Osamu worried, pointing to you though you weren’t comfortable with being used in this conversation, “falls and hits her head? You want that?”

“‘Course not,” Atsumu quietly admitted, sounding offended, a little worried even, but mostly pouting. “At least get me a plate too,” were his last words before he toddled off, and Osamu sighed, rolling his eyes at his brother before getting up. He wasn’t fooling you, you knew you weren’t a child anymore, and you wouldn’t slip on a few drops of water on the floor - at least, not seriously. It would have made sense for him to think so little of you, simply to undermine your being, but you couldn’t believe it yourself. Watching as Osamu filled another plate with steaming, delicious curry, you pushed your plate away from you, making it very clear you were done. 

However, before you could go, Atsumu returned, taking the seat at your other side for himself and using your spoon to get an up front fill on the food, Osamu returning shortly after, scolding him for eating your food. “Don’t steal from other people’s plates, ‘Tsumu.”

“She’s done,” he confirmed what you had wanted to tell Osamu all this time. “You’re just jealous because I get to eat from her plate.”

“‘Am not.”

“Tell that someone who believes you.”

Their bickering continued, a laughable display of their sibling relationship. As if they could not go a moment without a tease or a snappy comment. As if this was normal, and to some degree, it seemed like it. By the corners of their mouth ever so often twitching upwards, as they joked on each other’s expenses, or the plates being put into the sink to be washed off later, it was all so normal. Just an ordinary evening, on a typical day, with not so sane individuals around you, but overall it appeared so awfully normal. 

Supposedly, that’s what routine did to you. It made a situation that was nothing short of abstruse seem alright and normal, even though the tears welling up as your heart clenched with the realization, weren’t at all a sign of normality. Rather, it was desperation, pity, and fear of what was going on. What was becoming of you when even you started to adapt to this routine of your new days, a routine brought to you by the twins rather than from your endeavors and your life going forward. What would happen? Where would your life lead to?

You couldn’t care about the gazes you earned, two conflicted bastards watching the tears leave lines as they rolled down your face, cold and calculating. Still, neither of them reached out to comfort you yet. They wanted to see where the situation was going, what was happening. If you’d lash out again at them, throw a tantrum, or just fold into yourself. Fulfilling your needs wasn’t always easy with the relationship you three had, and they glanced at each other, hoping their twin would know more about what to do than they did individually. 

But neither of their routines included tending to a meltdown, and yours didn’t either. They could pretend to be normal as much as they wanted. Still, the paradise they tried to uphold daily was rotting and decaying under the surface even if everything seemed to be fine. Laughs, fun, and forceful measurements couldn’t bring them what they really wanted, but it broke you into pieces more and more every day. Their routine and their acting slowly made you wilt and lose yourself, and neither you nor they knew how to deal with that. How to deal with your own routine of slowly succumbing to their forcing. 

They didn’t know.  

They didn’t know, so Osamu emerged from the kitchen to help you up, drag you back to the couch in your room, and sit you down between the two brothers as they put on the TV, latched a big blanket over you three. Their hands rested on your body, but you weren’t even uncomfortable with their touches at that moment, one palm rubbing over your lower back and one on top of your thighs comfortingly. A thumb drawing circles over your knee, while Atsumu pulled you to rest against his chest again, experience the warmth and comfort of another person wanting to help you through whatever you were experiencing. It was something they couldn’t understand, but didn’t intend to happen, at least, that much you took from Osamu’s worried frown as he wiped away the tears escaping your eyes.

You simply hoped that these meltdowns wouldn’t become a part of your or their routine ever.

Especially not when they took turns in gazing at you lovingly, adjusting their bodies so you’d be comfortable, and leaving tender kisses on the top of your head, learning that despite it all, they were the closest you’d ever have in terms of comfort ever again.

[dumdumsun]

And Dusk

A/N: It's family dinner time, babes!!

Warnings: none that I'm aware of

Word Count: 3629

—————————————

Chapter 12: Team Zero

Striding into the steam-clouded sauna where the two remaining Swedish assassins now silently relaxed, The Handler began an unprompted conversation in their language. “All the new age remedies out there, but nothing beats a good schvitz when it comes to stress,” As she sat on the bench, the two men carefully watched her. “My job can be stressful, sure. But I can’t imagine what it must be like for you boys.” She batted her eyelashes.

“Do we know you?” The Swede, who appeared to be the leader, questioned. The Handler kept her head turned forward as she stared down.

“No. But I know all about you,” Standing from the bench, she quietly chuckled and walked to the center of the sauna, the steam crawling its way up to her neck. “However, seems you’ve run into some problems on this job.”

“Just a snag.” He tilted his head.

“You lost your brother. I’d call that more than a snag.”

Snapping, the second Swede pushed off the wall and marched up to The Handler. Before he could get too close, he grunted when she grabbed hold of his manhood, freezing his steps. She watched as his mouth fell open in pain. “What if I can give you the location of the knife-hurling dolt responsible for blowing up your beloved brother?”

The first Swede tilted his head. “Who are you?”

“Somebody you’re going to want to know.” Her eyes never left the man she was assaulting. The second Swede finally found the breath within him to speak.

“Unharm my weiner.” He wheezed in English, The Handler kindly doing as he asked, a smile on her face. He sighed and stepped away as his brother held up the hand that had been twirling a knife the entire time.

“Go on.”

At his words, she turned to him. “I’ll give you the exact location of the one you’re looking for. Diego. The rest… I’ll leave up to your imaginations.”

“What’s in it for you?”

“Let’s just say that his little game of ‘Hide the Sausage’ with my daughter needs a swift end. I just have one request,” The Handler approached the first Swede, the two in close proximity now. He watched her every move. “Don’t hurt the little one with the cute socks… and the other with the face scars.”

Lifting his chin, he furrowed his brows. “We’ve already killed her.” He mumbled. She only chuckled in amusement, the two men stiffening at the realization that their target may not have been executed like they thought.

-------------------------------------------------

The clicking of Reginald and (Y/N)’s shoes against the marble floor echoed throughout the hallway they walked down. The young girl was desperately trying to keep up with her father’s long strides, her puppy in her arms and her heart beating out of her chest. If they had actually complied, she was going to reveal her true whereabouts for the past two years to her family. They were going to know that the entire time they had been looking for Reginald, she was living under the same roof as him. No matter how many times she swallowed the lump in her throat, it always swelled right back up. “D-Dad, who are these people we’re having dinner with?”

“These people have been nothing but a nuisance to me.”

Her mind flashed back to the night of the gala. Diego had been there with Five. They were there for Reginald, to find out his intentions with the president. To find out what he was doing in Dallas in the first place. Reginald was a secretive man, he didn’t even let Grace or (Y/N) into his office unless he was present as well. Her stomach twisted in knots of anxiety the closer they approached the door to the tiki lounge. When Reginald stopped just before the doors, he turned to his daughter and lowered his voice. “When we enter, you are to sit and remain silent. Do not speak to them, do not interact with them. Sit and shut your mouth unless I tell you otherwise. And your pet remains on the floor or in your lap. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.” She whispered and held Mr Pennycrumb close to her chest, the pup quietly panting and licking her cheek. That seemed to be enough for Reginald, for he nodded and turned forward, slamming the door open and marching into the lounge.

The Hargreeves stood dumbfounded at their father as he headed straight to the table they surrounded, not a word leaving his mouth. None of them had expected to see him ever again, especially not after the funeral they had attended back in 2019. But what they really didn’t expect to see was (Y/N) right behind him, her eyes avoiding them as she absentmindedly pat Mr Pennycrumb under his chin. She especially avoided looking at Five, whose jaw was dropped upon her appearance. The real kick was when Reginald pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit. Without even a peep, she sat down and allowed him to scoot her closer to the table before taking his own seat. The five blinked once before taking their own seats at the table.

“Not only have you burglarized my lab, set my chimp loose, conned your way into the Mexican consulate, repeatedly stalked and attacked not only me, but my daughter as well, but you have, on numerous occasions, called me-”

Klaus joined the table with a grunt, a martini in his hand. “Hey, Pop. How’s it hangin’?”

“-‘Dad’,” Reginald gave everyone a once over as (Y/N) shifted uncomfortably under the stares of her family. “My reconnaissance tells me you’re not CIA, not KGB, certainly not MI5, so… who are you?”

(Y/N) watched as they all glanced at each other, opening their mouths to answer, but quickly closing them instead. This went on for a few seconds before Five decided to do it, “We’re your children. We’re from the future. In 1989, you adopted us all and trained us to fight against the end of the world. Called us the Umbrella Academy.”

Reginald turned his head from left to right, frowning at each individual. “Why on earth would I adopt six-”

“Eight. One of us isn’t here.” Allison clasped her hands together on the table.

“Dead,” Diego muttered, his head bowed down. “One of us is dead.”

“And the eighth?” Reginald questioned. (Y/N) cleared her throat and began to speak, but stopped when he sent a cold glare her way. “What did we talk about?”

She quickly shook her head. “No, I… I’m the eighth. I’m also your child from the future. You just… got me very early this time-”

“(Y/N), it is not the time for your games-”

“It’s not a game! W-Why do you think I’ve been leaving my dates with Preston to be with them?” At the words ‘dates’ and ‘Preston’, Five leaned forward, eyes narrowed at his love. She glanced at him apologetically and shook her head. Reginald was just about to scold her yet again, but she rolled the sleeve of her shirt up to reveal the umbrella tattoo on her left arm. “Did you forget about this?”

“Yeah, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba. Enough of that now.” Klaus hissed and turned behind him. Everyone froze and stared at him in confusion. Turning forward again, he simply motioned for Reginald to continue. Uneasy, he did just that.

“Regardless,” His gaze turned back to Five. “What would possess me to adopt… seven ill-mannered malcontents?”

“We all have special abilities.” The boy answered.

“Special? In what sense?”

(Y/N) set her pet on the ground and sat up in her seat. “In the superpowered sense.” She raised her brows. Reginald sighed and clenched his jaw.

“My child, if you do not stay out of this as we agreed, I am going to have to send you to the car with your mother-”

“Dad! I am being so serious when I tell you I am one of them!”

“Well, call me old-fashioned, but I’m a stickler for a pesky little thing called evidence,” He turned back to the table. “Show me. All of you.”

Allison scoffed and adjusted the straw in her drink. “Everybody wants to see powers all of a sudden…”

“We’re not circus animals, okay?” Luther spoke. “We’re not gonna bounce balls on our noses and clap our hands like seals for your amusement-”

As if on cue, Diego launched a knife across the table, zipping around Reginald’s head and pinning itself into the pillar behind him. The seven leaned in and watched as the man clicked his pen and began writing in his journal. “What are you writing?” Diego asked. Reginald glanced up at him.

“You are zero for two, young man.” He quipped, Allison sputtering her drink before Diego jumped up from his seat in anger. To prevent anything disastrous from occurring, Five stood and blinked in front of his brother, halting his movement and whispering a ‘stop!’ to him. “Now, that is interesting.” Reginald muttered.

Five sighed and headed back towards his seat. “Alright, uh, quick rundown. Luther: super strength. Klaus can commune with the dead. Allison can rumor anyone to do anything.”

“Except she never uses it.” Diego muttered. Allison removed her lips from her straw and sent a tight-lipped smile towards her brother.

“I heard a rumor… you punched yourself in the face.”

Against his will, Diego rammed his fist into his face, crying out and groaning in pain immediately after. Klaus reached over and tried to comfort him as (Y/N) and Vanya ducked their heads down to hide their smiles. Reginald glanced over at the latter. “And you?”

Luther placed a hand on his sister’s arm with a smile. “Uh, maybe we don’t take Vanya for a test run.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s probably not a good idea.” Klaus sat back in his chair.

“It’s fine,” Vanya shrugged, reaching for a fork. “I can handle it.” And despite her siblings’ protests, she tapped the fork against her glass. A high-pitched tone rang and shook the table. (Y/N) held her breath as she waited for the worst. A beat later, the bowl of fruit in the center of the table exploded, chunks of fruit splattering against everyone’s clothes and faces. (Y/N) tried to dodge as Mr Pennycrumb jumped into her lap, happily licking the food from her scarred cheeks and chin.

Reginald sighed along with his future children as he handed his only actual daughter a napkin to clean herself. Adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves, he side-eyed her. “Alright, my child, show me.”

Not even hesitating, (Y/N) stood and placed her pup in her father’s lap, despite his clear distaste, and straightened her clothes. “Alright. So, I can clone myself. To both summon and dismiss these clones, I have to sing two distinct three-note tunes.” To prove her point, she ‘ooh’ed her first tune, her clone appearing from her shadow, standing with a blank stare. Reginald raised his brows and began writing in his journal. “These clones not only share a conscience with me, but function as muscle and spies.”

“Spies?” Reginald frowned.

“They’re able to record their memories for me to look over in my own mind. Over the past year, I’ve come to learn that I can view these memories in real time. They also function to fulfill any task I command them.” Turning to her clone, she placed her hands on her hips. “Pick up Pennycrumb’s leash,” She commanded, the clone immediately doing as it was told. “I’ve also recently learned that I can give them the ability to talk. But if I wanted to… oh, I don’t know… attend a date with a certain boy without actually being there, I can project my consciousness into its body.”

After taking a seat, (Y/N) immediately slumped in her chair, unconscious. The clone beside her perked up and blinked twice before turning to Reginald. The man leaned forward to inspect it, but jumped back when it spoke. “But if something prevents my clones from fulfilling their task, they will start to self-destruct after twelve hours if said task isn’t completed. This is done by tearing into its own flesh and ripping itself apart.”

At this, everyone shivered.

“Right. It’s terrifying,” The clone returned to its blank and empty shell before (Y/N) raised her head. “And to dismiss, I hum the tune from earlier in its descending order.” She demonstrated said tune, the clone disappearing into her shadow. Mr Pennycrumb excitedly jumped from Reginald to her lap, nuzzling into her arm. “Any questions, Dad?”

Reginald was hastily scribbling into his journal. “Extraordinary. Absolutely extraordinary… And even more so that you’ve managed to keep this power from me for over a year.” He whispered. Turning her head, she caught Five’s proud smile. She winked at him as Diego stood from his seat.

“Look, we know that you’re involved in a plot to assassinate the president.”

“You were recently hospitalized, isn’t that correct? You still appear to be suffering from delusions of grandeur and acute paranoia.”

“Am I?” Diego reached into his back pocket and slid a picture over to his father. “Explain this. That’s you. That’s two days from now on the grassy knoll at the exact spot the president’s gonna get shot.”

Reginald picked up the photo and scanned it before his eyes moved to his daughter, the girl slightly shrinking under his gaze. Receiving his answer to the question he was to ask her, he turned back to Diego and set the photo down. “Well… I suppose you’ve solved it. You’ve single-handedly unearth my nefarious plot,” The smile Diego wore slowly faded. “Is that what you want to hear? You fancy yourself a do-gooder? The last good man who will save us from our descent into corruption and conspiracy? This is a fantastic delusion.” The more Reginald tore into him, the lower Diego sat himself into his chair until his lips were quivering and a tear slid down his cheek. “The sad reality is that you’re a desperate man, tragically unaware of his own insignificance, desperately clinging to his own ineffectual reasoning. More succinctly, a man in over his head.”

“Y-Y-You’re wr… wrong.” Diego stuttered. (Y/N) shakily inhaled and slammed her hand onto the table, alerting the rest of her siblings.

“Don’t you ever talk to him like that!”

“And you!” Reginald whirled to his daughter, the girl flinching a bit. “You have done nothing but deceive me! I half expect you to tell me that the man you chose over Preston sits among us!”

(Y/N)’s gaze instantly found Five’s. His green orbs were pleading, begging her to say it.

Tell him. Tell him you love me. Shout it from the rooftops, promise that you’ll always believe in us. Tell him.

But she couldn’t. Not when her doubts sealed her lips shut and casted her eyes away from him. The siblings stared between the two, heartbroken for their situation. Seeing that she chose to be ashamed, Five nodded and cleared his throat to speak. “Look, forget about the president. We have a catastrophic war coming in five days. We need to figure out how to stop it.”

“War?” Reginald looked away from his daughter and to the boy across from him. “Men will always be at war with each other.”

“No, this isn’t just some war. I’m talking about a doomsday. The end of the world.”

“Well,” Reginald muttered after a beat of silence. “You’re the special ones, aren’t you? Why don’t you band together and do something about it?”

Expecting much, much more than that, all seven of them frowned. This was what Reginald wanted from the start, for them to come together as the Umbrella Academy and prevent the end of the world. But it had been almost two weeks and two apocalypses managed to form due to their actions. That was why they couldn’t.

Grunting, Klaus suddenly raised both his arms in the air and shook uncontrollably, choking out gasps and jerking his body. (Y/N) gasped and slowly reached out to him.

“Is he having a seizure?”

“Overdosing, probably…”

“Should we do something?”

Whipping her head to Luther, (Y/N) widened her eyes. “Yes!” She shouted before turning back to Klaus as he shuddered. “Shit, what if he is overdosing?!”

“Klaus,” Five leaned over and whispered. “Now is not the time. What are you doing?”

Gurgling, Klaus turned his body to Reginald, face contorted in discomfort. “I’m… Ben!” He gasped out before falling to the ground, panting and groaning. (Y/N) rushed to his side and placed a hand on his forehead.

“Klaus? Are you okay? Can you hear me?” She whispered as he reached up and weakly wrapped a hand around her wrist. Reginald looked from Klaus, to (Y/N), then to his journal before he gathered his things.

“Well… thank you for coming,” He stood from his chair and began to walk away, stepping over Klaus’s body. “I’ve seen about enough. Come along, (Y/N), your mother is waiting for us.”

A loud slam sounded, causing everyone in the room to turn to Luther, who stood and ripped his buttoned shirt open. (Y/N) covered her mouth when he revealed his discolored bare chest and abdomen. “Look at what you did to me! Look at it!”

As the siblings groaned and gawked, Reginald simply turned his attention to Five. “You in the culottes. A word, in private? (Y/N), to the car. This instant.”

“Yes, sir.” She whispered before giving Klaus a kiss on the forehead and standing to her feet. Five walked by her side in silence until they had to split ways. Reginald turned to the both of them, and just when (Y/N) was going to turn out of the lounge, Five grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed a kiss to her lips. Gasping, the girl brushed her fingertips over her lips as her face burned. She watched Reginald for a reaction, but he only motioned for her to leave. “Bye, Five.” She grinned behind her hand and hurried away.

“This way, boy.” Reginald brought Five’s attention back to him, leading the two of them to the bar. After they took their seats and he ordered their drinks, Reginald turned to his future son. “You seem to be the sensible one of the bunch.”

“That’s because I’m the oldest,” Five nodded, Reginald tilting his head. “You know, technically, I’m older than you right now.”

Reginald turned forward when the bartender set down a bottle in front of him. “Cognac?”

“Just a smidge.” Five slightly smiled. As he poured their drinks, Reginald started their subject of conversation.

“The other night, you quoted Homer at me. Why?”

Five shifted in his seat and straightened his blaser. “You forced us all to learn it as kids. In the original Greek, no less.” He raised his brows before a glass was passed to him. He and his father did a silent cheer before he took a gulp of it. The entire situation was so jarring to the boy, but as he said before, he didn’t choose this life. He’s just living it. For the next few days, anyway. “This world ends in five days if we don’t get out of the timeline.”

“Worlds end. Paleozoic, Jurassic, and so on.”

“We can do something about this one.”

“Man’s greatest flaw: the illusion of control.”

The boy frowned. “I need your help. Alright? You’re my last sane option. Otherwise, I gotta make a deal that I really don’t wanna make. What do you know about time travel?”

“In theory?”

“In practice.”

Reginald hummed. “I know it’s akin to descending blindly into the depths of freezing waters and reappearing-”

“-as an acorn. Yeah.” Five finished with a sigh.

“What transpired when you tried traveling before?”

The boy blinked and shook his head as he looked away. “I botched it…”

“How?”

“I jumped too far forward, got stuck in the future for forty-five years in an apocalypse. Then I jumped too far backwards… except this time, I brought my entire family with me.”

Reginald tapped his fingers against the bar as he clicked his tongue. “Including (Y/N)?” He questioned, receiving a nod in answer. “Well, maybe your appetite is disproportionate to the size of your abilities. Start small. Seconds, not decades.”

“Seconds?” Five widened his eyes. “Look, no offense, but I need a bit more time for what I’m trying to accomplish here.”

“So much can change in a matter of seconds. One can overthrow an empire,” His eyes moved from Five to the doorway (Y/N) had been standing in seconds ago unbeknownst to Five. “One could fall in love. An acorn doesn’t become an oak overnight.”

Five swallowed, his expression that of defeat. “I was really hoping you had more than that.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be of more help…”

Five shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry, too. I gave you such a hard time as a kid… I didn’t know any better.”

Humming, Reginald glanced down before raising his glass. “No skin off my teeth, old man.” He smiled before drinking. Five sighed and downed the rest of his drink before standing from his seat. “One more thing.”

“What is it?” Five turned back to his father, freezing at the cold look he had been giving him.

“It would be best… if you refrained from courting (Y/N).”

A pang going through his chest, Five rapidly blinked and stepped back. “W-What…?”

“Your relationship is not healthy,” Reginald stood from his stool and began walking past the boy. “And besides…”

Five clenched his fists as his father walked towards the exit of the tiki lounge.

“I have plans for her.”

—————————————

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[novalunosiss]

Okay!! The post strangerthingstv just made on Instagram looks really interesting! The whole thing gives me fear street vibes (like the title sequence with the news paper articles and whatnot) but I digress… Seems like season 4 is going to have some kind of murder plot.. or this murder could potentially be one from the past (like how Hop was looking at old newspaper articles in season 1). Anyway the video goes really fast but I saved it to my camera roll and slowed it down to read. Most of the information is blacked out but I’ll write what is legible below. I’ll write everything in the newspaper in a different font, my own thoughts will be in the regular font. For simplicities sake and because I don’t know terminology I’ll be calling the pictures “frames”. I won’t be discussing the frames that are just pictures, only the ones that show the text. This means that when I say “second frame” or something, it might not actually be the second frame in the video, but it’s the second frame with text on it. Hope that’s not confusing. Not sure if anyone will find this useful but i thought it was interesting, so here goes. Just as a warning, it’s 3:00 am where I live rn so this will probably be a little scattered.

First frame:

THE WEEKLY WATCHER

Lana stalked by crazed fan page 3

BLANK CLAIMS: VENGEFUL DEMON KILLED FAMILY

The Murder That Shocked A Small Community - PAGE 10

The Star-studded ‘bonanza’ premiere - CENTER PAGES

Policeman shot 12 times survives - PAGE 3

Inside Jayne and Mickey’s ‘Palace’ - PAGE 24

Thousands seek gold in jungle - PAGE 7

Magic Pill helping people lose weight

Second frame: you can only see part of the newspaper in this bit, but I’ll still try my best

s are certain Creel is to blame, but he claims

BLANK: Killer or t

m of a vengeful sp

by Addie Ba-cock

Okay so after this there’s a blank block of text but I’ll use this to point out some stuff. In this frame the text starts with the end letter of a word, s. I’m gonna assume that the word in question was ‘Authorities’. That would make sense considering it’s about a murder case and it fits well into the rest of the sentence. Not sure what the T or the M could be for, but the Sp is definitely the beginning of Spirit. This is later confirmed by another slide. As for the dash in the surname of whoever wrote this article, I couldn’t quite make out a letter so I left it like that. Back onto the text.

Whoever you believe, the strange case of the Creel family has put the heretofore sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana, on the map. It is safe to say that the entire region will never be the same again. District attorney Phillip Bradley said of the ordeal.

Once again this is followed by a block of text. Now. Im fairly confident I’ve got most of this right, but it’s hard to be sure because the text is pretty small and blurry. The two lots of dashes are words I couldn’t quite figure out. Credit to @the-one-and-only-asha who figured out that the missing words were entire and region and let me know in the comments. For some reason it won’t allow me to link to their profile, as it says her blog is missing. But full credit goes to them :) To the right of this text is another bit that is featured in two slides. By piecing together both bits it is still incomplete but more together. It says the following.

‘I thought I was dying… so I w

flooded with relief… but there

a sense of terrible grief, too.’

The first time this bit of text appears it is in the second frame and has a block of blanked out text under it. However, the second time it appears, in the fourth frame, you can see some of the previously blanked out text. It says:

The discovery of a dead an-

the property. One evening,

ether Alice found a rotting

The third slide is also a closer up version of the second slide with a bit more information that was not previously seen.

Crime scene photos from inside the Creel Home obtained EXCLUSIVELY by TWW reveal a complete blood bath.

Underneath it is a picture of the scene but it’s blurry and you can’t see much. To the right there is more text, though most of it is cut off.

to the super

The Cre

home in Ha

Court docum

had recently

itance with

murder hou

Creel cl

in to their

a series of

paranormal

A lot of this you can use common sense to figure out. Cre is obviously Creed, Ha is most likely Hawkins, docum is documents, hou is house, cl is claimed, and after paranormal I’d assume it says events.

After this the video blurs through some more text but if you slow it down you can read one bit.

Didn’t know what I

told the court.

“I said I thought

teenagers set the gra

wouldn’t listen to me

dener tells our source

ly had enough

Not sure if i got all of this part right, it was lighter than the rest of the text so it was a little harder to read. For “gra” that could be grave, I’m thinking. Dener sounds like it could be a person, probably a surname, but im definitely not sure I got that right, it could be a completely different word/name. The ly in the final sentence is probably finally, as in “finally had enough.”

That’s it, I’ll include the video and the screenshots I took below but hopefully someone finds this as interesting as I did!

[wthjillie]

KNB Imagine - Kagami unexpectedly leaves for America for 6 months (Part 2)

a/n: Hello again everyone! So here's part 2 of the Kagami Taiga imagine that I wrote hehe and I'm excited! I hope it's good and you enjoy it

Time stops and your breath hitches and you begin to cough

Did I hear him right? Kagami is coming back?

You look up to Kuroko, expressionless as per usual

"I know that idiot hasn't spoken to you in months. But his flight lands tomorrow afternoon and we're all going to see him, you can come if you want."

Kuroko sits in his desk and your teacher enters your classroom so you don't get a chance to reply

All you can think about is Kagami... is he really coming back?

...

After school, you stood at your locker, lost in thought, not sure how life would be now that Kagami was coming back

It wasn't until Koganei jumped up behind you, wrapping his arms around your shoulders screaming your name that you zoned back in

"Y/n!!! How are ya?! Where have you been?! We've missed so much at practice! You should start coming again since Kagami is coming ba-"

You turn around, wondering why Koga suddenly stopped talking and you can see that Riko punched him in the back of his head. Shortly after, you see a couple more guys from the team awkwardly approaching you

"Hey y/n..." Hyuuga says slowly, scratching the back of his head. "We're all really sorry for not telling you sooner about Kagami, but he's landing tomorrow and we were wondering if you wanted to come with us and the rest of the team to the airport after school."

A brief moment passes and you decide going to the airport to welcome Kagami was too difficult for you, but probably just as difficult for him too

What if you has said something or did something that made him upset? Maybe YOU were the reason he never communicated with you all those months

The pain and hurt of upsetting Kagami was too much for you, you didn't want to ruin his return to Japan so you decided it was best if he was just able to see all his friends welcome him at the airport

"I actually have plans with my Mom after school tomorrow, she last minute flew in to see me so she needs help with.. uh... groceries! Yeah, groceries, so I have to drive her and help out. I'm so sorry guys."

Teppei and Riko raise their eyebrows in confusion, immediately knowing that you're lying, while the rest of the team nods their heads, falling for yet another one of your excuses

They all say their goodbyes and see-you-laters and just as you think you're alone, a familiar voice creeps up on you

"Y/n."

You jump up and yelp, turning around to see Kuroko blankly staring at you

"You didn't have to lie to us, you know. We all know what it's been like for you for that last few months."

There's nothing you can really say at this point that Kuroko doesn't already know

"I'm sorry Kuroko... I just-"

"You don't have to explain. But whatever you're thinking or feeling, Kagami doesn't deserve for you to take it out on him. You know how he is y/n, he's an idiot but whatever it is, he means well."

You nod your head, not knowing what to do anymore. Should you go to airport? Should you just give him a call when he lands? Who knows

"Oh and y/n?" You look up, noticing that Kuroko didn't leave while you were distracted, like he usually would

"Don't forget your keys." Kuroko lifts your lanyard that you probably dropped when you were jumped by Koga

"Oh, thanks.. I didn't realized I had-" You stop in your tracks as Kuroko hands you the lanyard with your house key, mail key, car keys and...

You hadn't used it in months. You forgot it was even there. But as Kuroko handed you your lanyard, the sun coming in from a nearby window reflected off your engraved initials on the key to Kagami's apartment

Kagami gifted you that key pretty early on in your relationship. It was that moment you finally admitted to falling in love with him and realized how much he actually meant to you

Since he lived in Japan alone, and your Mom only flew in once or twice a month to see you, you spent a lot of time at Kagami's apartment like it was home

But somewhere along the way, you mr heart realized what your brain didn't, that it was really Kagami who was your home. No building and no apartment could compare to the safety and security that your boyfriend made you feel

You look down at the key and run your thumb over your initials and then flipped it over to reveal Kagami's intials...

A couple tears well up in your eyes, suddenly remembering all the intimate moments and all the first's that you and Kagami shared in his apartment

You quickly dry your eyes to stop the tsunami of emotions and quickly grab all your necessary belongings from your locker, slamming it shut and quickly pacing down the hallway

Before you know it, you're in your car driving home

~~~

a/n cont'd: ahhHhhHHHHH YOU GUYS I'M SO SOFT I'm so sorry this one was kinda anti-climactic but I'm hoping you still liked it!!! Part 3 is definitely coming sooner rather than later, I just have to run some errands and then I'm sure I'll be able to write it tonight! Also, just got a reply from Part 1 requesting to be tagged in Part 2 and I know it's not huge but this means a lot to me!!! So here it is @cocobutterbaby 🤗 thanks for reading hehe

[tanyawritesstories]

Saltwater Feelings | Kit Fisto x Reader

Here is the fic I wrote based on this request. I really liked writing this one, and thank you to the anon who requested it. Enjoy! 🥰

Word count: 2.7k

Warnings: NSFW, smut, oral (m receiving), descriptions of injuries, soft sub!Kit, fluff, let this man rest

•••

You checked the clock for the fifth time and sipped your tea that had gotten cold. It was two in the morning and he still wasn’t home. He was supposed to be back days ago but you had gotten word that the shuttle had been destroyed and your boyfriend and his team had been stuck on the watery planet of Mon Cala.

Kit had been excited to go, it was rare that he got to go on aquatic missions. He didn’t like that he was going because of the war, knowing that all he would be doing was fighting. But he rarely had time to just go swimming and enjoy the water anymore, he would take any chance he could get. You had watched him leave, waving goodbye to him and his battalion of scuba troopers. That was six days ago. You hadn’t heard any news since their shuttle blew up, you expected the Separatists had cut off all communications from the planet. It was getting to the point where you were having trouble sleeping at night.

Your comm device suddenly began beeping, indicating an incoming message, and you nearly spilled your tea from the surprise it gave you. You set the mug down and ran to the kitchen where you had left it. You fumbled with it for a moment before opening your end of the frequency. “Hello?”

“Y/N? It’s Deuce, I just wanted to let you know that General Fisto and his team have returned from Mon Cala,” a clone trooper told you from the other end. You sighed in relief. “Is he alright, please tell me he’s alright,” you asked. “He seems fine, just a little banged up from what I can tell,” Deuce replied. You smiled, relieved and happy. At least he was alive. “Thank you, Deuce,” you said, “any idea when he’ll be home?” Your clone friend huffed in amusement. “They still need to give the council their report on the mission. You know the Jedi, that could take a while. I’d say he’ll be a couple hours at least.” You nodded, calculating how much time you had to make dinner for him.

“Thank you so much, Deuce. I owe you.” You could hear him laugh. “I fully expect dinner for me and the boys as payment for staying up all night for you,” he teased. “I will organize that right away,” you joked back. “Remember, guard building three, eighteenth floor, D wing,” he informed. “I remember, food for forty-three guys at noon, I got it,” you confirmed. “Thanks again, Deuce. See ya later.” You closed the line and walked back into the living room to grab your datapad. You quickly organized the catering for your friends in the Coruscant Guard before getting started on an extremely late dinner.

Turns out the council report didn’t take as long as you thought. The food still had a couple minutes when you heard your door open. You exited the kitchen in time to see the door close behind Kit as he walked into your apartment. He didn’t look injured, just worn out as he stood before you. “Something smells delicious,” he commented. You rushed forwards and brought him into a tight hug, burying your face in his neck. He winced in pain but chuckled and hugged you back. “Miss me?” He asked cheekily. You pulled away just enough to look up at him. “Of course I fucking did,” you teased with a smile. “So much so you’re using grown up words.” His tone was light, he loved poking fun at you when you swore. You pouted at him and he kissed your forehead. “Is the food done, I’m famished.”

~~~~

Kit told you why it had taken so long on the mission. They had planned to come back and request help but the shuttle was blown up and they were trapped on the planet and forced to fight until they won. “So I take it you didn’t have as much fun as you were hoping,” you said as you placed the dishes in the sink. Kit finished his drink before replying to you. “No, but I was proud of the outcome of my visit, and it was nice to be in the water again.” He stood from the table and embraced you as you walked back over to him. “I’m just glad you came back to me,” you said. You leaned up and pecked a kiss on his lips, he smiled and brought you in for a longer more passionate kiss. You parted after a while, if only you didn’t need oxygen you would kiss him forever.

“You smell like seawater,” you said. “I’m sure I do,” he said, nuzzling your nose with his. You giggled and pulled him with you to the refresher. He took off his boots and the first layer of his robes while you turned on the shower and got it up to temperature. You moved over to where he was leaning against the vanity to help him take off the rest of his shirts. He grabbed your hands in his, stopping your actions. “My love,” he hesitated, “I just want you to know I didn’t get out unscathed...I’ve-”

“What do you mean?” You asked, suddenly frightened again. “What happened?” Kit looked afraid to tell you at first, he held your hands in his admiring how much bigger his hands were than yours. “I sustained a few injuries, my dear. They’re healing, I just didn’t want you to be worried,” he said. He looked dejected, almost sad. “Let me see,” you urged. He released your hands and let you gently peel the last shirt he was wearing off his body, he had a few bacta patches and wraps on. One patch on his left pectoral, one wrap on his left arm from his shoulder going down to his elbow, the last a large wrap going completely around his middle, covering his abs and stomach.

“C-can I…?” You asked softly. He nodded slowly and you could see how utterly exhausted he was. Despite the positive attitude he kept during the mission, it was all catching up to him now. He was tired, he was in pain, and he needed your comfort. You carefully peeled the old bacta patch off his chest and revealed the wound underneath: five cuts going vertically, some creature had gotten their hands on him. You unwrapped the gauze on his arm and quietly gasped, he had a huge gash starting at his shoulder and running down over his bicep. You tossed the cloth on the counter behind him, afraid of taking off the last wrapping. You gently cut through the gauze with a dull scissors, careful not to touch his skin.

You peeled away the wrapping and it fell from your hands, along with the scissors, as your hands flew to cover your mouth. Five more gashes, horizontal this time, cut deep into his skin across his middle. All of his wounds were starting to heal nicely, he had obviously kept bacta on them the entire way back, but it was the idea. Something or someone had hurt your Kit and it was bringing you close to tears. “Kit…” you breathed. “What did this to you?” He sighed softly. “It was Separatist leader Riff Tampson, a Karkarodon.” You pulled your hands away from your face. “Tell me he’s dead,” you pleaded, “tell me you killed him.” Kit huffed, amused by your fierce protection of him. “Yes, he’s dead but I didn’t kill him, it was-”

“I don’t care who did, just as long as he’s dead,” you cut him off. “Maker knows if someone else didn’t, I would’ve.” Kit reached out for you and you let him pull you close. “You don’t have to want revenge everytime someone lays a finger on me,” Kit said softly, offering you a small smile. “You can stop the girl from bounty hunting, but you can’t take the bounty hunter out of the girl,” you joked. Kit smiled and rubbed your arms. “Let’s get you in the shower,” you said with a warm smile. You ushered your boyfriend into the shower, leaving the door open. You helped him clean up, taking extra care around the sore areas of his body while trying not to get yourself too wet.

It was around four in the morning when you both finally made it to the bed. You had put new wrappings on his injuries and now he sat on the edge of the bed, wearing only a pair of sleep pants and still looking stressed. You exited the refresher and just stared at him. The stress was making the muscles in his entire body tense, it was clear he needed a release. You kneeled in between his slightly parted legs and looked up at him. “Hello, Kit,” you hummed. You started running your fingertips up and down the inside of his thighs lightly. He smirked at you, “hello, love. What are you up to?” Your fingers brush lightly against his groin a few times, feeling him start to harden. "You look tense, can I relieve your stress? Give you a release maybe?" You suggested, batting your eyelashes sweetly. "That would be lovely. I've had a rough day and...I need it," he admitted. You smiled at him and cupped his cheek. "Lie back."

He reclined on the bed, propping his head up with a pillow and watching you. You slowly began stripping out of the clothes you had been wearing all day. You saw Kit's pants slowly begin tenting with each item of clothing you removed. You stood there for a second once you were naked before you climbed onto the bed, stopping halfway. You locked eyes with Kit as you lowered your head and licked a stripe up his cock through his pants. He shuddered and let out a shaky breath. You hooked your fingers on the waistband of his pants and gently pulled them all the way off. Kit never wore briefs under these pants and you loved it.

His hard cock laid on his abdomen and you traced a vein on it with your finger. Kit whimpered and you took him into your hand fully. “I won’t tease, darling. I know what you need,” you purred. You pumped him a couple times before licking him from base to tip. You swirled your tongue around his tip and could hear his sharp intake of breath. Your mouth closed around just his tip and sucked, Kit gasped and tried to keep his hips from bucking up and pushing his dick further into your mouth. You pulled off and let saliva gather in your mouth before gently spitting it onto his tip and watching it run down the length of his member. Kit pushed himself onto his elbows to watch as you jerked him, coating him in your saliva. You took him into your mouth and didn’t stop until he hit the back of your throat.

His taught skin felt like silk in your mouth as you brought your head back up, running your tongue over his slit, tasting the slight salty and slight sweetness of his precum. You hollowed your cheeks and started bobbing your head, your tongue pressed into the underside of his shaft, letting his tip dip into your throat. You used your hand to pump what wasn’t in your mouth, twisting your wrist as you went a little faster. Kit groaned and collapsed back onto the pillow, one hand now tangled in your hair. You pulled off him to lap and suck along his base before taking just his tip back into your mouth.You kitten licked the underside of his tip and his hips bucked, sending him deeper into your mouth. You could feel him throbbing against your tongue and cheeks, he was getting closer to the release he needed.

You took him all the way down so your nose bumped the soft skin of his stomach, he let out a loud moan and held you down so you couldn’t move off of him. You massaged his inner thighs and breathed through your nose, swallowing around him. His grip loosened and you pulled off of him completely. He looked up, curious as to why you had stopped when he was so close, only to see you crawling up so your hips were hovering over his. Kit’s hands instinctively moved to hold onto your hips. You held yourself above him, careful not to put any weight on his body except for his hips. “Can I ride you, my beautiful man?” You cooed sweetly. Kit steadied his breathing, “please..” You smiled and ground down on him a little bit. He let out a strangled moan as you slicked him up even more, rubbing your pussy along his length, coating him further in your wetness.

You lifted up and took him into your hand once more, Kit leaned up so he could watch, this was one of his favorite sights. You lined his cock up with your entrance and slipped just his tip inside, he whimpered as you pulled him out and rubbed his tip against your clit. You moaned at the feeling of his solid cock grazing against your clit. Kit whined and you moved his cock back to your center and slowly sank all the way down on him. He let out a deep guttural groan and threw his head back, overwhelmed with the feel of your satin walls suffocating his cock. You moved your hips in circles, grinding down on him, unable to hold back your own mewls of pleasure.

You braced yourself above him with your arms on either side of his head, the bed supporting your weight. He brought you into a breathless and thankful kiss, his hands moving to grasp at your ass. You began to move, lifting your hips and sinking back down, going slow at first. Kit moaned into your mouth and you broke away from his lips to plant kisses on his neck. You made sure your torso wasn’t putting pressure on his, where all his injuries were. Kit was lost for words, normally he was talkative at times like this, but he just wanted to lose himself to you right now. The only noises leaving his lips were moans and gasps of ecstasy. You went a little faster, your skin now making noise every time your body connected with his. Your arms were starting to burn a little from holding yourself up, but you didn’t care.

Kit planted his legs on the bed and tried to meet your hips with his own small thrusts. He wanted you to cum with him and he angled his hips, trying to find that spot that made you melt for him. You tightened your inner muscles and clamped down on him, causing Kit to gasp. “I want you..I want you to cum with me, ‘m close,” he stuttered out. You sat up on him grinding your hips every time you sank down on him, you rubbed your clit, getting yourself close to your own release. Kit located the correct angle and his cock nudged against your secret spot inside, a high pitched moan falling from your lips. You rubbed your clit faster and bounced faster, your partner’s cock hitting all the right places.

“Cum, Kit. Be good and cum inside me please,” you mewled. Your words sent him over the edge and he held your hips down on his as his muscles tensed and his seed shot deep inside you. His cock swelled and triggered your own release, you struggled to keep yourself up, you couldn’t collapse on his chest like you normally did. You just stayed like that, connected and quiet for some time. Your breathing returned to normal and you carefully climbed off Kit, his softening cock slipping out of you. You journeyed back to the refresher and retrieved a damp cloth. You gently cleaned off his member and wiped the sweat from his chest, neck, and face; only cleaning yourself up after he was good and taken care of. You asked him if he wanted his sleep pants back and he refused.

You laid down next to him and you snuggled into each other, both still naked and still not caring. Kit cupped your cheek in his palm. “I’m so thankful for you, I don’t know what I would do without you,” he whispered. You smiled and turned your head to kiss his palm. “You’d still be smelling like saltwater, that’s what.”

[amchara]

Baby Group - Jessa / Herongraystairs Family ficlet

Tessa, Jem and Kit all take turns taking Mina to the local baby group in Devon. Pure fluff (okay, tiny bit of angst in Tessa's section but it's mostly fluff!)

Tessa paused as she finished buckling Mina into her sling. The building in front of her was unassuming, a low white wood-sided structure, covered by a green roof. There were children’s handprints and rainbow decorations taped to the windows. She could feel Mina’s tiny, reassuring weight in front of her, as her daughter wiggled and let out a couple of happy baaa baa da’s as Tessa jiggled her, trying to weigh up whether she really wanted to go in.

‘Newton Abbey Surestart Centre’ read the colourful sign beside the wide path, leading up to sliding doors.

A couple of other women walked past her, chatting and pushing buggies that looked more like mini-cars, given all the bells and whistles attached. They didn’t pay any attention to her and Mina.

“First time?” A voice came from behind her. Tessa turned and saw a young, red-haired woman, who was smiling at her as she wrestled a chubby baby with similar hair into a smaller buggy.

“Yes,” Tessa said, and remembering her manners, gestured to herself and to a now-quiet Mina, who was taking it all in with wide, dark eyes. “I’m Tessa Carstairs and this is Mina.”

“Gemma Sampson and this is Charlee,” said the other woman cheerfully. “You have the right way of doing it,” she continued, pointing to Tessa’s sling. “I don’t know why I bother with all this baby shit,” she said, rolling her brown eyes and crinkling up her nose, as she pointed to her overflowing baby bag and packed buggy.

“I- uh, I tend to travel light,” Tessa said, but internally she cursed. Should she have brought more? Maybe she should go grab the extra nappy and wipes out of the backseat, just to show she was prepared? Mina was usually happy just observing the world, rather than being occupied by toys and Tessa was still breastfeeding her so they usually travelled with minimal supplies.

But Tessa had not done the baby thing in over a hundred years and she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She wondered again, if this had been the best idea- but Jem had suggested if they were settling in at Cirenworth long-term they should probably try to integrate themselves into the community. Especially as they no longer had the monumental task of finding the lost Herondale, and they wanted to encourage Kit to find his own friends. It would be best to take their own advice, Jem had suggested, a small laugh erupting from him as Tessa had asked if he was about to join the local cricket team or the small village choir. “The choir, probably-” Jem had said, winking at her. “But maybe the local woodworking shop too.”

Gemma slid around Tessa with her buggy and gave a friendly nod. “Come on, love- they only let us in for the hour and then they kick us out. You want to get your money’s worth.”

“Isn’t it free?” Tessa muttered under her breath but she followed Gemma in, giving her name and Mina’s to the bored teenager at the door.

“She’s gorgeous,” the health visitor - who Tessa had been told was also a nurse - looked admiringly at Mina. Tessa relaxed fractionally. “Thank you. She takes after her dad,” she said, the smile growing on her face. Mina gurgled curiously and reached out for the rattle that the woman was holding out. She shook it happily.

“Is she your first?” the nurse asked, casually.

Tessa froze. She took a deep breath.

“No. I had two other children. James and Lucie. They… they’re not around,” she said and hated how her voice shook faintly. Normally it didn’t sting this much, the thought of her precious James and bubbly Lucie. But in this homely, warm place with the babble of babies’ voices and happy, smiling parents watching them, it hit her unexpectedly.

Tessa could see the nurse’s eyes sharply assess Tessa, taking in her youthful face but also, Tessa hoped, her smart denim skirt, yellow flowered collared shirt and the image that Tessa wanted her to see. “I see,” she said but noting the look on Tessa’s face she didn’t ask any further questions. She wrote some scribbles down on her pad, smiling politely and told Tessa to enjoy the centre.

As she walked away, Tessa cast a small spell to dislodge the note, which dropped to the floor beside her and Mina. She read: ‘children? x2 possible dec. or child servs?’ and her stomach dropped as she crumpled it in her hand. She followed up and cast a quick memory spell on the woman to also make her forget the last two minutes of their conversation. Maybe this had been a mistake… she thought, and when she looked up again, she could see Gemma had settled beside her and Mina, Charlee shaking a plastic tambourine in Gemma’s arms..

“They’re old busybodies,” Gemma announced, jerking her head at the health visitor. Tessa smiled wryly. The woman was maybe thirty at most.

“But also- you don’t have to engage with them to use the centre,” she said frankly. “It’s not a requirement.” She looked directly at Tessa and her look softened. “I’m sorry about your children though- it must be tough to be a warlock and have to watch them grow old.”

Tessa thought she was good at schooling her face to remain neutral, after so many years but Gemma just let out a small laugh and she let her eyes flash amber briefly. And Tessa relaxed, realising Gemma was a werewolf.

“We have a small group of Downworlders here at baby group,” Gemma said and she pointed to a small group off to the side. “Mostly werewolves, a couple Sighted women and one half-nixie. But we’ve never had a warlock before,” she said, her voice hopeful.

“Sounds delightful,” Tessa said, watching as Gemma’s smile widened. She picked up Mina, following her to the group.

--

“That’s it, clever Mina-mine,” Jem cooed, as Mina peeked her head out from the small, fabric enclosed tube that he had procured from the far corner. She smiled up at him, her cheeks squishing up into tiny peaks as she crawled further out. She rolled onto her back and then began chewing on her hands, tired from all the effort. Jem was so proud of her.

He looked around and was surprised at the large group of women and children that had gathered around him and Mina. It had been nearly empty in the baby area when he and Mina had arrived at the children’s centre, with only a couple other mums and babies around, likely due to the heavy rain they had had that morning, Jem mused.

But more must have showed up as he was playing with Mina and he hadn’t realised. Then Jem blushed and suddenly understood, as they all kept glancing over to him. “C’mon, Mina- we’re hogging the equipment! We need to let the other babies have a turn. Let’s go play with some other toys,” he said, lifting her up into his arms and made to move to another section of the room.

“Oh no- that’s fine,” said one woman, bouncing her baby on her knee, smiling at Jem. “We don’t mind waiting our turn.”

“She can play with these.” Another woman waved a couple of colourful scarves at him.

“Or this.” Jem found a couple of jingly bell-trees thrust into his lap, and the dark-haired woman held out a couple more, smiling at him. “My baby is finished with them.”

“Oh- that’s very kind of you,” Jem said, awkwardly trying to balance them and Mina in his arms.

He caught sight of a familiar figure coming towards them, and he grinned, dropping the toys to the side. He held Mina up so she could see. “It’s Mama!”

Tessa smiled her lovely, radiant smile as she approached them. As if by magic, the other woman and babies melted away as she bent down to give Mina a kiss on her forehead and Jem a quick peck on the lips. “Hello, my two darlings!” she said, settling herself on the floor beside them. “Did you miss me?”

“Always,” Jem said.

--

“We’re full for the session,” the older woman in a rumpled sweater gave Kit a bored look and turned away, to continue to talk to her taller, younger colleague.

Kit blinked. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” the woman said dryly, bending her head down to write in a log.

“Fine,” Kit muttered. Mina babbled and Kit could swear that he could hear the disappointment in her tone. “It’s okay, Min-Min, we’ll do something better than stupid baby group,” he said, hefting her further up on his shoulder and prepared to leave.

But then suddenly she was overbalancing on him and Kit struggled to hold onto her as she surged forward.

“BA BA NA!” she shouted excitedly at the dark-skinned woman with long braids walking past. She paused and turned towards the noise and her smile was infectious as she took in Mina. “Mina Carstairs!”

Ten seconds later, they were through the doors, the older woman scowling as the director of the centre told her to let them in. “Don’t tell anyone but she’s one of my favourite babies,” the director told Kit conspiratorially.

“She’s one of my favourite babies too,” Kit said, stifling a smile. Mina was smiling contentedly, or almost smugly, Kit thought, in the woman’s arms.

“And of course, your parents are also brilliant,” the woman said, handing Mina back to him. “Say hello to them from Sonya.”

“I will,” Kit said, as they headed further into the centre.

He plopped her down on a couple of cushions and stretched out beside her, taking in the scene. Kit idly wondered if his dad had ever taken him to a centre like this when he was young, before immediately scoffing and dismissing the possibility.

It did look like baby heaven, he thought, as Mina started crawling over to a rainbow-coloured arch. He watched the other babies and parents around, noting that he was likely the youngest one there or… actually, maybe not, he thought, as he saw a nervous, thin girl in the corner, playing with one of the chubbiest babies he had ever seen.

“Stay away from that baby, Mins,” he said. “He looks like he eats other babies for breakfast.” He looked down.

“I swear we’ve gone over this - we don’t eat socks,” Kit told her, an exasperated but fond manner. He grabbed a tiny bag out of his pocket and shook it at her. “I have much tastier snacks here.” He watched as Mina took her purple socked-toes out of her mouth and gestured in a familiar way. Kit handed her a couple of tiny baby puffs.

“No snacks on the play floor,” said the same, grumpy monitor as she walked past.

Kit rolled his eyes but put the bag away.

Kit didn’t rise to the bait when five minutes later she told him that he was being too loud with the xylophone.

He gritted his teeth when she snatched away the blocks that he had been planning to get Mina, informing him that it was almost the end of session and she was starting to tidy up.

And during the group singing time at the end of the session, when she told him to stop mumbling the words to the stupid nursery rhymes, Kit decided it had gotten personal.

“Oh, sorry,” Kit gave an angelic smile as he stepped away from the woman. She scowled at him, and turned away to button her coat up, her purse swinging in the air, unzipped.

Kit waited until they were out of the centre before looking down at his spoils. Sweet, he thought. A Cadbury’s Crunchie bar and two Twirls.

He shifted Mina in his arms, to one shoulder and holding the chocolate bar in the other hand, ripped off the wrapper of the Crunchie with his teeth.

“Don’t tell Mom and Dad,” he told Mina, after swallowing several bites.

She smiled placidly and reached for the Crunchie. “Not yet- in a couple of years,” Kit said. But then he reconsidered, and let her have a short gum at the stub. She giggled and burrowed her chocolate-smeared face into his shirt.

And then they got on the bus back to the village, heading back to Cirenworth.

(I don't know who to tag in my Herongraystairs family fics? @dontmindmyshadowhunting @sandersgrey @foxglove-airmid maybe? This is definitely the start of Kit bringing Mina into the pickpocketing life

Let me know if anyone else wants to be added in!

Previous Herongraystairs family fics:

Days Like These (day at the beach)